TMNT: Secrets of the Sewers
by Author of the Insane
Summary: AU:When the TMNT find a severely injured girl, they take her home and make her their sister. However, this girl has a dark past, one that will stop at nothing to reclaim her. Co-Edited by Writing Avenger 2016
1. Theme Song

ALL: Four Green Turtles!

RAPHAEL: Heard the news?

DONATELLO: Changed to mutants by an ooze!

MICHELANGELO: Gathered up and raised by a rat

LEONARDO: Now we're ninjas, how 'bout that!

ALL: Check it out, a new girl found

HISAKO: A human hiding in the underground

LEONARDO: We took her in

RAPHAEL: yeah, that makes five

DONATELLO: And guess what guys?

MICHELANGELO: It's Ninja Time!

ALL: Nah-nah-nah-nah Ninja!

HISAKO: Ninja

ALL: Ninja Turtles! Nah-nah-nah-nah Ninja!

HISAKO: Ninja

ALL: Ninja Turtles!

MICHELANGELO: Don't look now, real bad dude!

RAPHAEL: Painted rude with an attitude!

LEONARDO: The Evil Shredder,

HISAKO: Yeah that's his name.

DONATELLO: Thing's aren't ever gonna be the same!

RAPHAEL: Ninja turtles are on the scene!

MICHELANGELO: Mess with green and it's gonna get mean!

ALL: Nah-nah-nah-nah Ninja!

HISAKO: Ninja

ALL: Ninja Turtles! Nah-nah-nah-nah Ninja!

HISAKO: Ninja

ALL: Ninja Turtles!

MIKEY: Yeah!


	2. Prologue: Everything Changes

New York City, the city that never sleeps. A masquerade of lights forcing its denizens into a maddening yet never-ending dance. Waking up, getting dressed, going to work, making money, losing money, and then heading back to bed to begin the cycle anew. Many outsiders describe this city as a beautiful place, a metropolis of second chances and new beginnings. They have clearly been blinded by false promises. Promises of an American Dream turned into a nightmare.

One such victim was a Japanese immigrant named Hamato Yoshi. He came to this mystical place with his wife and daughter, searching for a new life away from the hardships of their former home. They were hopeful, yet naïve. His wife, Tang Chen, would watch over their three year old daughter, Miwa, as they tried to find their place in this unforgiving place.

Unfortunately for the Hamato family, they stuck out like a round peg in a square hole. Still, Yoshi tried to make the worse situation better by teaching karate in Chinatown on weekends. The poor fool made kids smile, and his family happy.

But happiness is a fragile gift, and it doesn't take much to destroy it.

…..

Yoshi sat up with a start, looking around in a frantic motion. A cry had roused him from sleep, a cry from his daughter's bedroom. He clapped twice and the lamps in the room turned on, as his wife began to stir. He turned to her and placed his hand gently against her neck, kissing her cheek. It was a deed that always comforted her, and thus one he performed on a nearly daily basis.

He gently pulled the sheets off of him and stood up, reaching into the end table drawer for the flashlight. As a father, he feared the worse, but expected it to be simply one of Miwa's nightmares. He frowned at the thought. It had been hard for Miwa to adjust to New York. New sights and smells were always waking her.

He opened the door, closing it behind him so gently that not a sound was heard and turned down the hall. He passed by the broom closet and turned into his daughter's room. She was curled up under her blankets, peeking out hesitantly upon seeing the light.

"Miwa," Yoshi softly spoke.

"Papa." She called, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Yoshi approached her, gently pulling the covers off her head. Her face was red, and her eyes cracked from the tears.

"What happened, my child?" he asked.

"I had the dreams again…" She whimpered.

Yoshi sighed, before snuggling next to her, pulling her blankets over the two of them. Another long night of comforting his daughter was in store, yet he was never unhappy to do so.

"Tell me about it," he said.

She scooted over, and hugged his arm. He in turn picked her up, cradling her in his arms as she told him.

"My turtles..." She began.

As she spoke, she stared at a small fish tank that sat on her dresser just across the room. Though void of water, there was gravel and tiny green plants that brushed to the movement of four small retiles slowly stomping about. Miwa's pet turtles, won by Yoshi in a street fair last New Years.

"They were monsters…" She explained "Bigger than you…. they hurt people."

She hugged onto his arm. She never liked the move, and he feared this was a symptom of it.

"Shush, Miwa." He said, hugging her close to him. "They are not monsters. Turtles cannot hurt anyone."

But still, she seemed adamant. She looked up at her papa, her eyes like diamonds

"Can you take them outside?" She begged. "Just for tonight?"

She was precious, and he was weak. He smiled, as he stood, scooping up the small glass tank.

"Very well, Miwa." He relented. "I'll put them in the shed until morning."

…..

Yoshi left his daughter's room, holding the turtles in the crook of his arm. They seemed to look up at him with curious eyes, as if asking him where he was taking them. He walked through his house's kitchenette towards the back screen door. He opened it, and walked onto the back patio.

"Do not worry, little ones." He began, "I will not let anything bad happen to you."

He began to approach the small shed, which sat at the far back of the lawn. It was quite old and a bit worn down, but Yoshi had hopes that by winter he would have enough money saved to repair it. He opened the door, jumping slightly as about five different black rats came scurrying out. After a moment, he just stood there, smiling at the clutter of tools that littered the shelves. He'd have to clear a space but he would find a place to put them.

A loud crash shook the entire shed, knocking tools and jars off of the shelves and nearly jarring Yoshi off his feet. His instincts told him that something had happened, and when he turned around, his eyes widened in absolute horror.

A large semi-truck had ripped through the house, a large beast of metal and fear. The walls of his small home crumbled around it, the horn wailing loudly into the night. The roof was slowly tearing away from its mounts, threatening to fall onto the truck. The tankard the truck had been towing was leaking a strange, blue-green glowing ooze that was spreading all across the floor of his home, as well as his back porch.

"TANG CHEN!" Yoshi screamed, "MI-"

A spark from some exposed electrical wire lit the ooze on fire, causing a large explosion that utterly obliterated the house. The resulting shockwave sent Yoshi crashing to the ground, the turtle tank shattering against the stone floor of the shed. As Yoshi pulled himself to his feet, slapping away several more black rats who were attempting to escape the blaze, it began to rain down bits of burning debris, as well as large globs of that same glowing ooze.

Screaming in despair, his eyes filled with tears, Yoshi watched as his home burned, his wife and daughter so obviously dead. He felt as if he himself was burning in the blaze. However, after a moment, he began to realize that he really was burning, but not from the fire. His skin was scorching hot to the touch, bubbling as it glowed a bright red. Everything hurt as he fell to his knees, crying out in physical and mental anguish. However, a single word pushed its way through the cloud of pain, forcing Yoshi to focus

"Turtles..." He thought, and turned to look for them. "Miwa's…. turtles…"

With every move he made, his skin tore like burnt paper. He found the turtles crawling around the floor of the shed, each of them covered in the same ooze that was eating away at his skin. He grabbed one, brushing off the burning ooze, despite his enflamed fingers, then did the same to another another. The other two scurried away from him.

He crawled forward, slowly reaching for the third turtle before going in search of the fourth. It was currently trying to makes its way across a small, boarded up well that the shed had been built over. The shed had once been a water pump that had later been turned into a shed after the water supply and sewer systems were established.

"Oh no you don't!" Hamato cried, reaching across the well as he took hold of the fourth and final turtle. Unfortunately, in his quest to save the tiny reptile, he had crawled onto the well, and the boards could not withstand his weight. They splintered beneath him and he fell, still holding the turtles for dear life.

…..

When Yoshi awoke, he knew something had changed. He felt different, and everything looked different. Everything was sharper, his eyesight, his hearing, and especially his sense of smell. As he went to rub sleep from his eyes, he did a double take when he saw his hands. His arms, where new skin should have been forming, were now growing bristle-like black hairs. He sat up carefully and looked around, wondering faintly if he was still unconscious. However, when he saw the barren, moss ridden tunnels of the Chinatown storm drain, he knew it was no dream.

He still had the flashlight from earlier and quickly turned it on. The light flickered slightly, but provided Yoshi with enough light to look at his reflection in a stagnant puddle of water. It was here he saw the full horror of his transformation.

His face now elongated, covered in that same black hair that now covered his arms. His pupils had enlarged, covering his entire eye. His ears sat high atop his head, twitching with every emotion that tore through Yoshi's deformed body. He hadn't any idea what was going on. Scared and senseless, he crumbled to the ground, breaking down into racks of sobs.

"My entire life…. My family… my home… and now my humanity…. Splintering to pieces before my eyes."

"Splin…..ter…."

A voice, like a baby boy's voice, broke through the cloud of sorrow blanketing Yoshi. Confused, he turned to see his daughter's turtles. They were much larger than before, almost the size of small toddlers. Save for the shells still attached to their backs, they almost seemed human in shape with fuzzy black hair on their heads. Not only that, but some were attempting to stand on two legs

"Miwas's turtles…." Yoshi gasped

Suddenly, Yoshi began to understand. That strange ooze that had burned him so, it must have combined his DNA with that of the rats that plagued his shed. And as for the turtles, their DNA must have mixed with his, making them humanoid turtles. They crawled over to Yoshi looking up at him with large eyes that seemed to sparkle with curiosity and innocence.

"Splin…ter…" one of them said.

Yoshi was completely shocked. The turtles were talking to him. As he watched the turtles crawl towards him, he couldn't help but think back to his daughter's nightmare.

"My turtles grew…. They turned into monsters…." She had said.

He chuckled slightly, gathering the humanoid turtles into his arms.

"Miwa's monsters…. Aren't monsters at all…"

He slowly got to his feet, looking upwards at the open hole above him. He could still see the smoke from his old home burning, destroying the only family he had ever known. Yoshi sighed in resignation, then turned away from the hole, walking deeper and deeper into the city's storm drain.

Hamato Yoshi was no more. He would adopt a new name, and a new life. As he looked down at the four turtles, who beamed up at him, Yoshi knew that there was something else he was adopting.

A new family.


	3. Start of Something

_"Run."_

_A voice echoed through the endless darkness that surrounded Master Splinter like a stranglehold. He could barely breathe, could hardly see, and his entire body felt heavy. Every time he tried to move, he felt pain shooting through him so agonizing that he could barely stand it._

_"Who is there?" He called out, his own voice seemingly weakened by this suffocating darkness._

_"Run away…"_

_That same voice echoed, this time as if a godly being spoke. There was no source, but it seemed the totalitarian darkness around him was its source. A voice from all directions, without distinction._

_"No destination. No distance. Run." It seemed more panicked now._

_"Run." It echoed, louder._

_"Run!" It seemed scared, terrified._

_"Run away!"_

_He felt a chill run down his entire body, his every instinct telling him that something was behind him. His heart racing, he turned around to see a large silhouette towering over him. He didn't recognize the shape, but he could sense its malicious intent. Whatever it was, it was the epitome of evil._

_"Run!"_

…

Splinter sat up, his fur soaked with cold sweat and his eyes dilated. His chest felt heavy, and his mind was in a fog. With deep breaths, he slowly felt his chi realign before rising from his bed. His dreams had become more and more vivid these past several days, warning him of some unknown horror. He had meditated on the meaning behind his dreams, but he still had no idea of what it could be.

He grabbed a small damp rag from the rotted wood end table, dabbing his face lightly. It had been getting more and more use over the last few weeks. He sighed.

"Perhaps the joy that only my sons could bring me will help me settle from my dreams."

He smiled, standing up and dusting off the fur on his chest and grabbing one of his robes. He slipped it on, looking in the cracked mirror he had set up, giving himself a small nod of approval. He then approached the door and took a deep breath.

"Grant me patience to withstand the day."

Splinter slowly opened the door to the main area of the small home he shared with his four sons, and was immediately greeted by the sight of his youngest son, Michelangelo, flying through the air on his skateboard.

"Cowabunga!" He screamed as he flew.

His skateboard slapped hard against the crack granite top of the makeshift lab that belonged to his brother Donatello. Vials and beakers jumped, then smashed against the floor as the blur of green and orange rolled off and smacked the concrete of the floor.

"Mikey!" Donatello shouted, picking himself up off the ground and adjusting his purple headband. "You're wrecking my lab!"

Mikey merely looked over his shoulder as he shredded down the railing of the short staircase towards the couch.

"Sorry Don!" He called, as he performed a trick jump over the coffee table, "It was in the way."

Splinter sighed, his claws pinching the bridge of his snout as he shook his head. He then reached over for the large walking stick that was leaning by the door. He loved his adopted sons very much, and they were his new world as they had been for the last thirteen years. However, there were some moments when punishment was needed.

This was one of those moments.

Mikey kick flipped towards Splinter, a goofy grin on his face.

"Hey Master Splin-"

The walking stick spun, slapping the ground hard in front of the skateboard. The wheels stopped and Mikey was sent flying off of it, landing with a loud splat into a pile of garbage the family had compiled.

"Michelangelo," He said sternly, before grabbing the skateboard, "You must learn respect for others. Otherwise, they will treat your possessions as crudely as you have theirs."

Mikey pulled his face out of the trash, his orange bandana stained with bits of garbage stains. He spat slightly, spewing out whatever he had in his mouth before turning his attention back to Master Splinter.

"Sorry, Master Splinter." He said, his head bowing.

Splinter held out the skateboard, which Mikey quickly grabbed. As he watched Mikey walk over to Donatello, helping him in the clean-up efforts, a small smile graced his rat-like features. It was hard to believe that a mere thirteen years ago had passed since that fateful day. Though he often wondered how his life could have been, we was quite content with the new life he had built for himself and his sons.

Once he saw Mikey and Donny were finished cleaning up the lab, he clapped his hands twice. This quickly drew the attention of everyone, knowing that gesture as a call for their attention. They all turned to him as he leaned against his walking stick.

"My sons," He spoke, "I believe it is time we venture to the surface."

A groan filled the room emanating from the TV area.

"But Sensei…" moaned Raphael, sitting up from the couch he was hidden behind, "I'm only 200,000 points from a new high score!"

He raised the control up in the air, an old beaten piece of jump that had clearly been abused over the numerous times. By now, it was barely holding itself together with the aid of duct tape.

"You're game can wait," Splinter replied. "Unlike our hunger which isn't as patient."

The red turtle sighed as he pressed the pause button and made his way over to his Master. Leonardo, who had been training diligently in the small dojo area, walked into the room with an old towel on his shoulder.

"Let me guess," He said as he set the towel aside. "Surface?"

"Surface" The three others spoke simultaneously.

Splinter tapped his walking stick against the ground, regaining his sons' attention. They all fell silent, turning to him.

"My sons… I know that you are curious about the outside world, but you must remember, we are not like those who walk above us. We are different, and in their world, we would not be easily accepted. That is why we must remain hidden. That is why I have trained you in the ancient art of ninjitsu."

The boys all nodded. Despite their curiosity, they knew that if they were ever discovered by the humans, they would be treated as monsters.

"Go my sons." Splinter said. "Supplies will not find itself."

"Yes Sensei." The boys said in unison.

They all leapt to their feet, grabbing their weapons from a large rack near the entrance into the main part of the sewers. In almost perfect synchronization, they darted into the endless expanse of tunnels, the thoughts of another night on the surface fueling their momentum.

…..

In the windswept streets of Madison Avenue, a young girl ran with all her might. Her bare feet pattered in the multitude of puddles as the rain came down in droves. It hid the tears that ran down her face as she continued to run.

She was soaked, water dripping from her flimsy clothes and down her shaven head as she turned down an alleyway. Her foot slipped and her legs gave out from underneath her. She fell, scraping her already dirty and bruised knees. Unable to push herself back to her feet, she crawled towards a dumpster for cover. As she huddled around herself, he took an old newspaper and wrapped it around herself, trying to conserve any remaining warmth her chilled body still had. The ink stained her hands as the wet paper disintegrated in her palms. She gripped what little she could desperate to stay warm. Desperate to stay alive.

She heard footsteps off in the distance, their stomping presence approaching her tiny hiding place like marching men. A voice, muffled by the rain and the distance, barked out orders. She winced as she forced herself to stand, ignoring the searing pain that coursed through her weakened body.

The lid to the dumpster was open, allowing for her to tumble into the waiting embrace of the garbage. There was a loud thud of the lid coming down, then silence. She held her breath, fearing that the noise would draw the attention of those just outside of her steel coffin.

"Think she went this way?" A deep and hoarse voice spoke.

"Nah, she wouldn't trap herself like that" A much hoarser voice replied. "She ain't as stupid as you think. Come on, I think I heard something down this way."

The footsteps began to recede as the men began to march away. Still, she didn't allow even the slightest spark of hope to flutter into her heart. She couldn't afford to. So she waited, her breath thread with both pain and fear.

"Maybe she isn't here after all." The gravel-voiced man muttered.

Suddenly, there was a muffled sound, like a radio or something of that nature.

"Shit, how'd she reach Fifth and Main? We're on it!"

The sound of their footfalls were more real this time, and she sighed in utter relief. Now as safe as she would probably ever be, the girl allowed her exhaustion to overtake her as her eyes fluttered closed.

…..

The turtles approached the ladder to the surface. It was rusted and coated in a thick layer of slimy mildew, and above it, the sewer lid read 'Madison Avenue - New York Public Works'.

"We haven't searched here before." Leo pointed out as he grabbed the ladder, "We haven't marked it with an X yet."

"Oooooh." chimed Mikey, His eyes gleaming with excitement. "Rich people's trash! Think I'll find one of those fancy sports cars here?"

Leo merely rolled his eyes at his brother's question. Raph, however, slapped him hard upside the head, the sound echoed through the tunnel as he took hold of the ladder.

"Really Mikey?" He asked, "We'll probably just find their Junkers like we usually do."

Mikey sighed, then snagged his turn on the ladder. Donny looked around, making sure no one spotted them down there before climbing up himself. Leonardo reached the top of the ladder, slowly and quietly pushing the lid up off the ground. He peaked out through the small crack, looking left and right as if preparing to cross the street.

The alleyway was completely devoid of life, the perfect place for them to exit. Leonardo pushed the lid all the way off, then pulled himself onto the pavement. He stood up, then turned around to offer a hand up. Raph gratefully accepted the help and Leo pulled him from the sewer. Raphael then stepped into a nearby puddle, wiping the slime from his feet as Mikey held his hand up,

"Umm, a little help?"

Raph grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. Mikey dusted himself off, then turned towards the entrance of the alleyway. He spread his arms wide, a big goofy grin on his face.

"Hello! New York Cit-"

Raphael slapped Mikey yet again, eliciting a yelp from the orange turtle.

"Mikey!" He hissed, "What part of 'Stealth' don't you understand?!"

Leonardo looked back at the two, bickering like they always did. Donatello was waving his hand for help, with no response. With a sigh, Donny gripping the edge of the sewer grate and pulled himself out. Mikey and Raphael were still at each other's throats as Donatello brushed his chest and dusted his hands. He then grabbed Mikey and Raph by the neck and forced their heads together.

"There we go," He said, as they both finally stopped fighting, "We're now back on track for being silent!"

Their attempt at silence didn't last too long unfortunately. Leonardo had found a promising dumpster and took hold of the heavy dumpster lid. He lifted it open slightly, peeking inside. He gasped in utter shock before throwing it all the way open. It swung back and bashed into the back of the dumpster with a loud clang, echoing through Madison Avenue. Luckily, the natural roar of New York City filled the air and covered the ruckus perfectly.

"Hey guys!" Leonardo called, his voice slightly panicked. "Come quick!"

The three walked through the wet alleyway over to their brother, who waved for them to hurry. As the got to the dumpster and peered in, they were horrified to see a bloody girl in the dumpster, clutching a tattered newspaper like a blanket.

"Whoa!" Mikey exclaimed, "When'd they start throwing away their own?"

Raphael raised his hand to slap Mikey a third time before lowering it, genuinely curious as to why she was here in the first place as well.

"We can't leave her here." Leonardo said, looking down at her still form. "No one will find her unless we help her."

"But Leo." Donatello remarked, "Master Splinter said we weren't supposed to let any humans see us. He would kill us if he found out we brought one down into the sewers with us."

"Yeah!" Mikey retorted, "You know how hard it was to make people think giant alligators live down there? Years! Literal Years."

Leo began to examine her. Besides the scrapes on her knees, there was some pretty serious damage on her. Her bleeding and bent nose suggested it was broken, scars had been raked across her chest, and there were clear signs of whipping. Wherever she had come from, Leo knew she had been tortured there.

"We are helping her." Leo said, this time more adamantly then his earlier statement.

Donny went to speak up again.

"But Leo-"

One look from Leo silenced the purple turtle as the former turned his attention back to the girl.

"I'll take the blame, guys." he promised.

He reached into the dumpster, pulling her body from it. He clutched her close to him, feeling how cold and how light she was.

"She'll be my responsibility." He assured them. "I'll take care of her."

"She isn't a puppy, Leo" Mikey countered.

For once Raphael agreed.

"You can't just take her with us." He added. "She probably has a home somewhere."

"She isn't going back to where she came from." He said, his tone more commanding as he approached the sewer grate. "Now no more arguing."

Mikey tried once more to stop them, but was completely ignored. Raph and Donny may not have liked the idea, but they knew better than to question Leo when he got like that.

"But-" Mikey muttered in one final, futile effort.

The others left his side and began to approach the sewer grate. Leo descended with the girl. Mikey just remained silently as he saw his other brothers descend as well.

"But won't Master Splinter be mad about us not getting supplies!"

He stood there a moment. Hearing only the patter of rain, and a distant thunder strike.

"Hey wait for me!"

…..

Splinter sat on his mat, enjoying the rare moment of peace by meditating. It was in this peaceful setting where he felt himself becoming one with the universe, and one with himself. He allowed himself a content sigh, a small smile paying onto his face.

"Master Splinter!" Came a cry from the sewers. "Master Splinter."

Splinter shook his head in resignation and opened his eyes, slowly standing up. He could hear the turtles barreling through the tunnels towards their home and he turned to greet them.

"My sons, you are back early. I hope you have gathered enough supplies and-"

His words caught in his throat as his sons came into view. Leo was carrying something in his arms, and upon further examination, it was revealed to be a human girl. She was unconscious in his grip, bloodied, bruised, and scarred, clad only in a thin hospital gown.

Fear gripped his heart as he stumbled forward, his daughter's dream about monster turtles coming back to haunt him

"Leonardo, what happened?" he asked, almost terrified to know. "What have you done?"

"Master, it wasn't us" Donatello exclaimed, "We found her this way in a dumpster."

"Someone hurt her Sensei…" Raph added. "Hurt her really bad."

Splinter's eyes lost that initial panic, but it was quickly replaced with anger. The boys feared for a moment that the anger was directed at them for jeopardizing their safety.

"Master…" Leo spoke up. "This was my idea. I couldn't leave her there… She needed help."

Splinter took the child from Leo, looking down at her. She looked so innocent, so young. To have been through so much brought pain to his heart. He didn't want to ask them anymore questions, they hadn't the time anymore.

"You did well," He said, abating their fears somewhat. "You may have saved her life, but we aren't done yet. Donatello, grab the medical kit from your lab. Leonardo, I will need your hand wraps you use for boxing. Raphael, prepare some hot water."

The brothers all scattered to do as they were told. However, Mikey just stood there.

"Umm, what can I do?" He asked.

"Help me get this newspaper off of her, but be careful."

Mikey walked over to the girl and gently helped Splinter peel the wet newspaper off the girl's skin. The ink still clung to her skin, mixing with the bruises and scars that already marred her frail body. Mikey, usually so cheerful and go-lucky, focused on being a careful as he could. The last thing he wanted was to cause the girl more pain.

Raphael got back to Splinter first, placing the steaming water next to him and tossing one of their cleaner towels into it. Splinter looked at him, then down at the pot of water. It was clear, almost like crystal. Splinter nodded in approval, then grabbed the rag.

"Cut her gown with your sai, Raphael." Splinter told him.

Raph quickly produced one of his weapons, tearing the flimsy garment open. Splinter then took the rag and began to clean one of the girl's many wounds. Despite not being conscious, she visibly winced when the rag touched her skin.

_STOP!_

Splinter felt something pushing at him, not physically, but mentally. His vision was clouded by a hazy red image. It seemed to be a womanly form screaming at him, as if crying out in pain. Raphael looked at Splinter, a bit confused.

"Master?" He asked,

"I am fine, just-" He held his head, trying to force the visions away. "A bit dizzy is all."

He returned to his task again, and the visions manifested once more. Gritting his teeth, he ignored it as he began to gently clean the blood and dirt off of the girl. With each swipe, he revealed the deep gashes in her skin. She would need stitches if she were to live through the night. It was something that Splinter was afraid of. A sewer wasn't a hospital, and with the minimal supplies they had, she wouldn't be able to receive the help she so desperately needed.

"Got my bandages" Leonardo exclaimed.

Splinter handed Mikey the rag and took the bandages from Leonardo.

"Excellent," Splinter exclaimed. "These may not be the cleanest wrappings, but they're all we have." He began to wrap them around the wounds as Mikey pulled the now blood soaked rag across a rather nasty set of scars. The girl hissed again, rising slightly off the table.

_STOP THIS!_

The red images reappeared, and this time, Splinter was not the only one affected. Both Mikey and Raphael stumbled back a few steps, reeling from what they were seeing. It was like nothing they had ever experienced before, and it was absolutely painful.

Donatello approached, carrying a small white chest with a red cross on it. Splinter turned, and grabbed it in a desperate motion. Opening it, he saw an assortment of old tools and clips that could be used for medical use, even if they weren't supposed to.

As he picked up some of the clips, he looked down at the girl, then at his sons.

"Donatello, Leonardo." He said softly. "Whatever happens next, be strong."

He pinched her skin with the clip, her body convulsing in a painful shudder. Suddenly the room filled with red, the floor moving like lava and the walls spinning with blurry images of men and women, twisted in horrific ways.

"What the Shell?!" Donatello exclaimed, voicing the sentiments of his three brothers as well.

"Be strong!" Splinter repeated.

As he clipped a few more onto the girl, the number of demonic looking silhouettes grew around them. With every moment, they drew closer and closer. The boys all huddled around each other, more terrified than they had ever been in their entire lives.

"You have to trust me, young one." He whispered, though he knew she probably could not hear him. "I am trying to help you."

He clipped one more as the figures' hands wrapped around the brothers. Once his hand released the clip, the red images began to slowly dissolve around them. Splinter finally allowed himself a sigh of relief, glad that the ordeal was over. The four turtles, however, did not share their Sensei's relief. All of them found themselves on the ground, tears flowing uncontrollably from their eyes as they continued to hold each other.

"My sons," Splinter said softly. "It is done."

Leo looked up at Master Splinter, wiping his eyes as he gasped for breath.

"What- what was that?" Leo asked, still visibly shaken by the visions.

"I think that was her." Donny said, wiping his eyes. "But how? How was she able to do that?"

"I just want to know where the shell she got that nightmare fuel." Raph commented, just sitting there completely thrown. "If that's even a fraction of what she went through, I'm surprised she's still alive."

Mikey didn't say a word. He just looked at the girl, watching as Master Splinter carefully bandaged the wounds that he could. Part of him seemed to break at the sight of her still body just barely holding itself together.

"She can't be older than us." he said finally. "Who would do that to a kid?"

"I do not know my son." Splinter replied, finishing his work. "I do not know, but whomever is responsible for this will never touch her again."

Splinter then slipped out of his robe, carefully wrapping it around the girl. He then took the remaining pieces of her hospital gown and handed them to Leo. The blue turtle slowly rose to throw the scraps away as Splinter tied the robe gently around her.

"My sons." He began, tearing his stare away from the girl, "Set out the spare mattress in the living room. I believe it is best if we leave her out here in open space."

The boys quickly went to do as they were told, pulling the spare mattress out from behind their TV and laying it down in the center of the room. Master Splinter slowly lifted the girl, setting her down on the mattress as gently as he could. Donny quickly provided Splinter with a thick blanket which he carefully laid over her.

"Now what Sensei?" Raph asked.

"Now, we wait." Splinter explained. "And pray."

…

Several tense hours past as Splinter knelt by the mattress where the small girl laid. He has sent the brothers back up to the surface to complete their task of gathering supplies, and had promised to keep an eye on the girl until their return.

Her eyes were shut so tightly that the worry lines stood out like canyons on her face. She shifted slightly, the old mattress creaking at her frantic movements. The blankets that were draped over her had begun wrapping around her in a cocoon of cloth. Through the blankets, Splinter could see her foot kicking, as if she was running from some unseen enemy. His heart broke slightly as he saw a tear roll down her face wondering what kind of horrors must have been playing through her mind.

…

_The girl was in that same alley way, running and weaving through the trash strewn darkness. She wanted to stop so badly. Her chest was heavy, and she could barely breathe. Her feet bleeding with every step she took. Eventually, her legs could no longer hold her and her knees buckled. As she pulled herself into a kneeling position, she turned slowly, looking over her shoulder to see two gigantic figurines closing in on her. They were as tall as the buildings surrounding her on all sides, their eyes like spotlights, pulling her from the safety of the shadows._

_"There she is" They moaned as they leaned towards her._

_The girl's eyes widened as she covered herself with her bruised arms, trying desperately to hide._

_"No," She whimpered, screwing her eyes shut in denial. "I'm not going back… I'm not going back!"_

…

She sat up with a start and began to scream, jarring Splinter from his temporary meditation. He quickly backed away, not wanting to overwhelm the poor girl with his presence, much less his monstrous appearance. He slipped out of the living room, hiding in an alcove near his room to wait out the girl's panic attack.

The girl's breath came out in raspy gasps as she looked left and right, attempting to take stock of her situation. From what she could tell, she appeared to be in some sort of home, but there were no windows, and the smell of the mildew lingered in the air. She was underground. More than that, as she looked down at herself, she noticed that someone had bandages around her many wounds, and had even tried to close the more serious ones with clips. Her hospital gown was gone, and instead, she was wearing a soft brown robe.

It slowly began to dawn on the girl that she was, for the first time in her entire life, safe. She took several deep breaths, trying to let the realization sink in. As she did, she felt something; a presence somewhere around her. It set her on edge and she gripped the blankets tightly.

"Who… Who's there?"

The girl mentally chastise herself for sounding so weak. However, she was surprised when a figure came and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. The girl instantly stiffened at the touch, her nails digging into the fabric of the blanket. Splinter saw this and slowly pulled away.

"Child..." he whispered. "Do not be afraid. I mean you no harm."

The voice was soothing, like a loving father or a wise grandfather. And something in the voice made her trust its words. Looking down at herself, a question arose, one she knew she needed the answer to.

"Did…" She stuttered, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Did you save me?"

Splinter could hear the disbelief in her voice. This girl had been devoid of even the slightest piece of human kindness to the point where she found it so hard to believe that someone could possibly have helped her. He wanted so badly to hold her, like he had with his sons or like he had with Miwa so long ago. But he knew that she would not see the gesture for what it was, so instead, he simply answered her question.

"No child-" He began,

The girl tensed up in fear. Splinter quickly realized his poor choice of words and tried to clarify.

"It was my sons who pulled you from that garbage dumpster," he explained. "They were the ones that brought you down here to me."

"Your sons?"

"You have not met them yet, but they were quite worried about you. We all feared that you would perish before we could save you." Though she was not facing him, he smiled slightly. "They will be pleased to know you are alive."

"Worried?" She asked.

"Yes..." Master Splinter replied. "They would have remained by your side, had the need for supplies not arisen."

For some reason, this seemed to calm the girl. In fact, she even seemed to visibly relax. However, she was still quite nervous about this unusual presence, and could tell that they were hiding something.

"You're safe here…" the voice said again.

The girl slowly turned, wanting to see who had saved her and was doing his best to comfort her, but that same hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Please do not." The voice asked with a note of dread and slight fear.

"Why?" the girl asked, her voice so weak, she could barely utter the words.

"If you see my face, you will fear Me." it replied.

The girl could feel the truth in those words. The presence truly believed what he had said. However, the girl just gently put her hand over his reassuringly. She then very slowly and deliberately turned. She looked up at the soothing presence, to see a large black rat. While he had the head, tail, and fur of a rat, he seemed to have a humanoid figure. She let out a small gasp, and the rat winced. He went to turn away, but the girl weakly grabbed his sleeve.

"Who… who did this to you?"

Of all the reactions Splinter had expected, never had he even thought about pity. This girl was not scared of him. Instead, she felt pity, believing someone had done this to him on purpose.

"Child," Splinter spoke calmly, gripping her hand and moving it away from him. "Nobody did this to me… I was in an accident… and it changed me."

She looked up at him, and she slowly reached out her hand. Her hand came to rest on his chest, right where the blanket didn't cover him. She felt his fur, and very gently moved her hand over his heart. She then stared up at him, her eyes with an expression of confusion. Feeling the rough bristle-like hairs of his chest, she felt something within him. The soul of an honorable man, a proud father. She felt a sadness, and nervously wrapped her arms around his arm.

"No it didn't." she said.

Splinter was confused, staring at the small child with a bewildered sense. However, he felt she was doing something to him. He loosened his tension, knowing she probably understood him more than he even knew himself. He placed his rough paw against the top of her head, and began to pet her.

"I had a daughter once," He explained to her, "She was young, innocent, and she was my world."

He looked away from her, his eyes distant as if remembering a faraway memory.

"She died many years ago, in the very same accident that transformed me into the monster you see before you."

The girl looked at him and tugged on the blanket hanging off his shoulder. Splinter blinked, snapping out of his trance and turning back to her.

"You aren't a monster." She insisted, seemingly desperate to make him see that. "You're nice, and you helped me. Would a monster do that?"

Splinter smiled, again petting her matted hair. It was then that Splinter came to a harsh realization. As he looked down at this child, he began to realize that throughout this encounter, he hadn't asked her for a name.

"Child," He chimed, "What-"

"Master Splinter!" A loud boom echoed from the next room, "We're back! And you were right, that French Place does sell bread sticks."

Splinter looked at the girl, who seemed scared as she gripped Splinter's blanket. He patted her head, and placed a finger close to his snout. She nodded as he stood up, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself as he approached the tunnel. He stood by the entrance as the girl hid herself behind the couch. Her curiosity got the better of her and she leaned over the edge of the couch so she could see.

"Mikey!" Raphael shouted, possibly louder than Mikey himself. "Splinter said be quiet. Our guest is sleeping!"  
"Both of you!" Leonardo spoke, whispering. "Be quiet! You'll wake her."  
Mikey and Raphael turned to Leonardo, violently shushing him. All he could do is roll his eyes as he grabbed the last garbage bag from the entryway.

When the brothers entered the home, she was surprised to see that they were anthropomorphic turtles. She had half expected them to be rats due to Splinter's appearance, but was silently grateful that they were not human.

"Splinter!" Mikey called, "Look!"

He began to pull out some to-go bins full of spaghetti, some breadsticks, and even different types of cheeses from their bags.

"Someone had even left some slices of cake out," Raph smiled confidently, pulling out some thin slices.

The girl slowly came out from behind the couch, walking towards them while still staying within the shadows of the tunnel. Her hand was on her stomach, which shuddered painfully as she stared at the near-mountain of food they were producing from their bags. Mikey grabbed an old breadstick and placed it towards his mouth, drool running down his chin as he took a bite from it.

"Yum! Only slightly stale!" He exclaimed.

He took another bite, the semi-rigid bread crunching in his teeth. It was then the brothers all heard a noise coming from the tunnel, a deep growling sound. She gripped her stomach, terrified that Splinter would be mad at her for breaking his rule. Mikey looked at the tunnel, walking towards it.

"Dudes!" He said, "Is there, like, an alligator here? And if so, can I keep-"

He stopped and looked at the little girl, staring into her eyes.

"Oh hey little dude-"

She screamed, clenching her eyes shut and covering her head with her arms. Mikey's mind was suddenly bombarded with horrific images. The room was suddenly filled with red human shadows, hospital beds, and demonic looking doctors. Pins and needles were all around him and he stumbled back in sheer terror. The girl continued to scream, only making the images worse.

"Young one!" Splinter called, running to her side.

Mikey gripped his head, suffering from a massive headache as the images continued to flood his visions. Even closing his eyes didn't seem to help. Finally, Splinter reached her, wrapping his arms around her in an attempt to calm her down. She reacted badly to the gesture, flinching violently, though she did stop screaming and the red images suddenly ceased.

"I'm sorry." She cried, trying to free herself from Splinter's grip, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Don't hurt me!"

Splinter realized his grip was tight and loosened it, looking down at her as she began to cry again. Her face turned red, and her eyes bloodshot as tears welled in her eyes. She looked at Mikey, who gripped his head as drool ran down his mouth.

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry!" Splinter looked at her confused, "It was an accident!"

"What do you mean it was an accident?" Splinter looked oddly at her, then towards Mikey as Raphael helped him to his feet and Leonardo suspiciously looked at the girl.  
"It-" She wiped her face with the blanket, "It just happens. I can't help it. When I get scared, I can make people see things. When I do, get scared of me and hurt me." She wiped her eyes again, her face becoming redder.

Splinter looked at Mikey, who was still trying to stand up.

"Michelangelo," Splinter turned to him, "What did she do to you?"

Mikey looked towards her, still a bit out of it as he rubbed his head.

"She showed me a lotta messed up stuff. Red people and an old hospital room. And some sort of cell/ICU ward, I think?"

"My room…" She whispered, as she ducked behind Splinter.

It was becoming more and more clear what this girl had experienced and survived. He turned to her, and hugged her. She tensed up, afraid that Splinter was going to hurt her. She tried to pull away, but couldn't.

"Child, do not fear us." He whispered, "We will protect you."

She looked towards Mikey, a bit worried as she gripped Splinter's shoulder and pulled the fur.

"Even the orange one?" She asked, a bit worried.

"Wha-happened?" He asked, still shaking his mind free of the images.

Splinter smiled, and looked towards the girl.

"Yes, even my dear Michelangelo." Splinter replied,

She didn't smile this time. She also did not cry, wiping her tears once more. She placed her face deep in the hard hairs of Splinter's chest, hugging him as tightly as she could. She didn't release him, as if she was about to lose Splinter. As Mikey was taken away by Raphael, Donny suddenly realized something.

"So, were you able to learn her name Master Splinter?" the purple turtle asked.

Splinter shook his head, still ignorant to her name. He managed to pry her face away from him and looked down at her.

"Little one," He spoke softly, "Do you have a name?"

She looked confused at him, as if she had no idea how to answer. She began to think carefully, remembering what she could with little details.

"Project Oracle." She said calmly, "That's what the men in armor and the doctors called me. That's all I have ever really known."

"That ain't a real name!" Raph called out. "No way am I calling her that."

"Me neither..." Mikey also called out.

The girl looked at them in confusion, unsure what else to be called. She hadn't a real response for them, the only other names she could remember were insults and swear words she had managed to pick up. She looked down, a bit disappointed that she had let them down.

"Maybe we could give you one." Leo suggested.

The girl looked up surprised.

"You'd do that?"

The brothers all nodded, agreeing that she should have a name. As they did this, Master Splinter's ears perked up and a small smile played out on his face.

"I think I know the perfect name." he said.

The four turtles and the girl all looked over.

"How about… Hisako?"

"Hisako?" the girl asked.

"It is Japanese. It means Enduring Child." Splinter explained. "You are one that has endured much in your short life, and yet, you still have a pure heart. I believe it is a fitting name."

The girl thought for a moment, and then perhaps her first genuine smile crept onto her face. She giggled and looked at them.

"I like it!"


	4. Lights Out

Hisako stood in the center of the living room, her hands gripped tightly to a pair of smooth steel railings which stood on either side of her. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she patiently waited for the signal. For nearly a month she had been preparing herself for this. She could feel the sweat running down her brow as she exhaled. Standing next to her was Donatello, who was holding a stopwatch in his hand, his thumb hovering over the start button.

"And-" Donatello began, jamming his thumb on the button, "Go!"

Hisako's eyes burst open, the sweat flying from her brow as she released the railing. She began to run, her feet pattering on the cold concrete. She smiled, as she stepped over a white chalk line marking her previous 'record'. Unfortunately, her knees started to shake. She panicked and attempted to grab the rails just as her legs gave out. She lost her strength in her hands, which slipped free as she stumbled forward and fell onto her face.

"Hisako!" Master Splinter cried, having witnessed everything from his meditation mat. "Are you alright?"

Splinter hurried to her side, gently pulling her off the floor. Hisako beat her hand against the concrete, with tears streaming down her face. Her knees were slightly bloodied, and her hands were scraped.

"I fell over again." She said tearfully, "I'm never going to walk. It's hopeless."

She covered her face with her hands, hiding the cut on her lip and nose as she continued to cry. Master Splinter sighed as he sat next to her, pulling her into his lap. Michelangelo, meanwhile, washed away the old white chalk line and drew one at the edge of her feet before looking back at the railing.

"Master Splinter." He said, "She beat her old record by a whole five feet! This calls for a celebration."

Splinter nodded in agreement. Impressed by her progress over the month of training, he felt that maybe a day of enjoyment would get her back to feeling a bit happier.

"Yes my son," He said to Michelangelo, "I agree, please set the table while I bandage your sister."

"Cowabunga!" Mikey exclaimed.

He gripped the railing and hopped over it, running towards the table. He darted into the kitchen and opened the fridge, digging through what food they had. He began to throw out old jars and grossly molded food stuff as he went through the shelves. Splinter, meanwhile, helped Hisako up to her feet, as Donatello walked over.

"Hey Master Splinter, do you think we could take Hisako to the surface?" He asked, "I mean, she's been cooped up down here since we found her. Maybe some fresh air would do her some good."

Splinter looked at him, then down at Hisako who frantically shook her head.

"I don't think that would be wise," Splinter spoke, "I do not see much reason to enter the surface world. We have plenty of food, water and supplies."

Michelangelo spun around, his hands now filled with all the good food that remained. Whistling happily, he began to walk towards the kitchen table. At that moment, the lights suddenly began to flicker, then all of a sudden, the power cut out completely.

With his vision suddenly gone, Mikey didn't notice that a jar had slipped from his grasp. That is, until his foot stepped on it. He lost his footing and stumbled forth, his other foot slipping on a slick spot. Now sliding around like a figure skater, Michelangelo fell face first through the table, crushing it.

"Mikey!" Hisako cried. "You okay?"

Donatello quickly produced a flashlight, aiming it at his fallen brother. Though Mikey had been able to twist his arms so the food was saved, the table was little more than splinters and wooden shards. The purple turtle shook his head at the sight as he lowered his eyes, pointing towards the table.

"He's fine." He said, looking down at his brother with an annoyed look. "But now we need a new table… Again."

Michelangelo slowly stood, still balancing the good food in his hands. Donny quickly relieved him of some of his burden while Raph and Leo took the rest.

"Sorry guys," The orange turtle apologized.

The three turtles put the food back in the fridge, then Leo approached Splinter, holding a flashlight of his own as he faced his sensei.

"Is this a good enough reason to take Hisako topside?" he asked.

Splinter sighed. He knew from experience that his sons would not drop the issue until he caved. More than that, if the power was out down in the sewers, then it was more than likely that the rest of the city was powerless as well. If ever there was a golden opportunity to go topside, this was it.

"Very well," Master Splinter sighed, "She can go with you. But keep her safe, and stay out of sight!" He enforced.

"Don't we always?" Asked Leonardo.

Without another word, Leo scooped up Hisako and the gang made their way to the surface.

…

The lid of the manhole opened slowly as a large green hand pushed it out of the way. Two purple bandana-covered eyes rose from the grate and looked around carefully.

"Coast is clear" Donatello said,

"Then move your shell!" Mikey said, as he pushed Donatello up.

Donatello climbed up grabbing Mikey's arm. He tugged Mikey, who was then followed up by Leo, who had Hisako on his shoulders, gripping onto him for dear life. Her skin was paler than normal and her eyes were wide with utter terror. Her knuckles were white as she dug her nails into the rough shell of Leo's back. She looked around, staring at each shadow as if something was going to jump out of it and take her.

"I don't think it's safe here." She whimpered, "What if they come again? What if you guys forget me somewhere?"

She sputtered out many more worried inquiries as she continued her frantic search for any possible attackers. As Raphael climbed out of the sewer, Mikey and Donatello followed as both attempted to calm their terrified sibling.

"Chillax, sis!" Michelangelo said, "We're not gonna let anything happen to you, honest."

Donny studied his sister, more than a little worried about how she was handling being outside. He had expected a negative response, but not one of this magnitude. He attempted to touch her, so softly pet her in order to calm her down. However, her hand shot out, slapping his away almost instinctively.

"I have never seen her like this," He analyzed, "She's like one of those shelter dogs that's never known a kind touch."

Leo looked over his shoulder, then up at a fire escape. A smile creeped onto his face as an idea formed.

"Guys, I think it's time we took to the rooftops." Leonardo said.

The others looked at each other and then to Hisako, her eyes clenched shut as she held tightly before they nodded in agreement. In a blur of green, the four turtles darted for the half rusted series of old iron staircases that made up the fire escape, clambering up to the top at record speeds. Michelangelo reached the top first with his arms raised high.

"And the crowd goes wild as Michelangelo crosses the finish line" He shouted, making peace signs as Leo, Donny, and then Raphael clambered to the top.

"Shut up, Mikey!" Leo loudly whispered, "You wanna wake up all of New York?"

More like everyone from here to Jersey." Raph quipped.

"You're just mad because I'm the greatest ninja of all time." Mikey taunted, sticking out his tongue.

Raph whacked Mikey on the back of the head, accidentally making the orange turtle bite his tongue. As he yelped in pain and rubbed his head, Leo gently tapped Hisako on the shoulder. She flinched hard, her eyes still screwed shut.

"Hisako…" Leo said gently. "Open your eyes."

She shook her head, not wanting to. Her arms still wrapped like steel cables around Leo's forehead, hugging onto him as if he was her whole world. He tapped her again.

"Hisako… Come on."

Still, she was adamant. Leo sighed, just about ready to give up, then Raph stepped forward.

"Hisako." he said. "Trust us. You do not want to miss this."

Hisako took a deep breath and very slowly opened her eyes. Almost immediately, she let out a gasp of utter fascination. All the lights around New York were gone, all but the gentle glimmer of headlights and tail signals from the streets below. The lines of red and white lights was all that could be seen for miles. The large silhouette of buildings seemed to go on forever, outlined by the dim color of the horizon that could be seen in the distance. As her gaze was drawn skyward, Hisako was surprised to see not the darkness she had known, but a spectacle beyond her wildest imagination.

Above her, millions of tiny specks covered the sky. The vibrant colors of space shined down upon her, stars and space which seemed to extend for eternity. The heavens were alight with new lights and colors that Hisako had never seen before. Her eyes grew wider with excitement as she reached up in some innocent attempt to touch one.

"Wow." She whispered in bewildered wonderment, "This is amazing."

All four brothers smiled happily.

"Up for taking the scenic route, guys?" Leo asked.

"You don't even gotta ask." Raphael replied.

The four began to walk gently over the rooftops, in an attempt to reach the dump before the light returned. Hopping from rooftop to rooftop, they quietly made their way over New York before reaching the large dimly seen sign which read 'New York Federal Waste Site' in white letters on the large green plate.

"Whelp, here we are." Mikey announced. "The fount of all our treasured belongings!"

Hisako didn't even register Mikey's comment, still enraptured by the beauty of the sky. Leo smirked, hopping to the top of a nearby pile and placing his sister atop it.

"You stay here and enjoy while the guys and I gather what we need." He said.

Hisako gave a tiny nod, her eyes never leaving the sky as Leo jumped down to rejoin his brothers. The four immediately separated, darting towards several different piles of junk in search of their prey.

"We either need a table, or enough wood that I can use to build us one." Donny called.

"Plus some crutches for Hisako." Raphael added. "It'll make her physical therapy a bit easier."

"Can we also see about getting another TV?" Mikey asked.

A can went flying through the air, hitting Mikey in the head. Hisako didn't even need to look to know that Raphael had been the one to throw it. Hisako chuckled lightly as she laid on her back, arms folding so her head rested in her hands. Looking up at the eternity of stars that stretched out before her, she gazed in wonderment as she began to trace some with her fingers. After several minutes, Leonardo walked towards her, interested by what she was doing.

"What are you doing, Hisako?" he asked.

Hisako smiled up at the blue turtle.

"I'm looking for star drawings." she smiled before pointing at a large cluster of stars. "That one looks like Master Splinter."

She smiled. Leonardo, happy to see Hisako's fears successfully abated, laid down next to her to play her little game. She then gestured towards another cluster of stars and dots, smiling as Leonardo joined in her fun.

"That one there is a giant frog." She declared, then pointed at some more.

"And that one is an elephant!" Leo chimed in.

Leo found many other starry animals, spreading his arms out as wide as he could and pointing each one out. With each discovery, Hisako's smile grew ever warmer. The two continued their game, unaware of their surroundings or the time that passed.

Their laughter and game quickly ended when a loud bang was heard in the distance. Leonardo instinctively ducked his head, dragging Hisako down with him as Mikey, Raphael, and Donny dove to safety as well. The bang, which turned out to be backfire from an old convertible, blasted again as the car rolled into the dump. Its old, balding white-wall tires rode across the rough gravel paths that crisscrossed the junkyard, sending tons of rock flying in its wake.

The deep red automobile made a turn before coming to a stop on the edge of a T in the road. The driver stepped out, a dark-skinned man wearing a dark red t-shirt with the word 'F*** U' emblazed upon it, a black trucker style hat sitting upon his head. He grabbed the loose belt of his pants, pulling them up as he walked to the back door of the convertible and grabbed the smooth faux silver door handle on it, yanking open the door.

Stepping from the car was a man dressed the completely opposite of the driver. Fine jet black dress shoes laced with white laces, long black slacks which met to the clean cut Armani-styled business jacket. An almost burgundy dress shirt with a white tie around his collared neck and thick Aviators over his eyes despite the darkness of the evening. His hair was cut neatly, almost business-like with a small shadow of a beard. He rolled his sleeve up, looking at the gold watch. His mouth pursed, clearly angry.

"Yo man, ain't they s'pose to be meeting us?" The driver spoke with a thick gangster drawl.

The man put his sleeve down, glaring at his driver.

"Ten minutes." He responded sharply, "If they aren't here, we pull out and were never here. I am not going to waste a night without power on such low-level thugs."

Leo stared down at the two men, then the scanned the darkness trying to find even the slightest sign of his brothers. While he looked, the back of his neck began to tingle a bit. He scratched at it, then was thrown away when Hisako's voice suddenly echoed through his mind.

"_Leo_." she said. "_What's going on?_"

After getting over the initial shock of what was going on, Leo regained his composure and attempted to reply back.

"_I don't know_." he replied. "_Can you see the others?_"

"_No._" she answered. "_But maybe I can contact them_."

Hisako closed her eyes, and within a span of a few minutes, Leo could hear the rampant thoughts of his three brothers.

"_Guys!_" he mentally shouted.

The turtles' thoughts all went silent as they registered what was going on. Of course, Mikey spoke up first.

"_Dude!_" he cried. _"I can hear you in my head!"_

"_Hisako's probably behind this_." Donny surmised. "_You're more powerful than I originally thought, sis_."

Hisako didn't reply. Instead, she rubbed her temple, as if trying to alleviate a headache.

"_Can you guys think quieter_?" she asked. "_You're so loud_."

The turtles all mentally apologized, making a genuine effort to keep their 'voices' down. Suddenly, the thought processes were interrupted by a low hum in the distance followed, by the sound of what felt like a steady beating drum. The five of them turned towards the suited man, who turned towards the oncoming noise in contempt.

"It's about damn time."

In the distance, a set of seven headlights began to drive down the rough gravel road. The suited man uncrossed his arms as he placed his hands into his pockets. The lights began to close in, revealing a set of five motorcycles following a large van. The entire fleet was imposing in nature, completely dwarfing the convertible, which now seemed little more than a child's toy. The van was colored black with paintwork and decals showing a distinctive Japanese dragon, its tail wrapped around in a coil with its main body, arms, and face aiming towards the front, a jet of fire erupting from its mouth.

The driver stepped out of the truck, roughly a seven foot tall man with long blonde hair tied back in a single stranded ponytail on the back of his neck. His entire body was made of huge muscles that put even the Hulk to shame. He walked forward, flanked by the five motorcycle riders who all wore the exact same riding gear and full faced helmets, slamming the door to the van and adjusting his long black trench coat. The suited man approached them as the dark-skinned driver followed.

The whole meeting was drowned out by the annoying sound of Korean Pop music coming from the still running van. However, Donatello was close enough to them that he could focus on what they were saying, relaying the conversation back to his siblings mentally.

"So," The red dressed man started, wiping his nose with the back of his hand as he scanned the area. "You got the goods, mate?"

"You bring the money?" The man in the trench coat replied, his voice so deep that he almost didn't sound human.

"_What's going on?_" Hisako asked, watching them men with morbid curiosity.

Leo quickly analyzed the situation, not liking where things were going.

"_It looks like some sort of transaction is going down_." Leo explained. "_Like in those old mob movies Mikey's always watching on TV._"

"_Do you think these guys started the blackout?_" Mikey asked.

"_It's possible._" Donny replied. "_With the power knocked out, their chances of being seen are severely diminished._"

"_Shush!_" Raph mentally hissed. "_They're doing something_."

The man in the suit reached into the pocket of his suit coat, pulling out a large wad of what appeared to be one hundred dollar bills. He held it out the large man in the trench coat, who took it. He thumbed through it, as if checking to ensure everything was good. One he finished checking, the suited man snatched it back.

"First show us the goods. Then we'll talk price."

The trench coated man let out a low, feral growl that seemed to emanate from deep inside his massive frame. The sound sent shivers down the spines of the five onlookers, all of them sensing something deep inside the man that just wasn't normal.

"_What is with that guy?_" Raph asked. "_Just watching this guy makes me want to crawl into my shell._"

The trench coated man raised a fist and for a moment, the five of them thought he might try to hit the suited man. However, he simply banged on the rear doors of the van. Two of his men silently pulled the doors open. Inside the van, there were several large boxes stacked on top of each other. A third guy came over, pulling one of the boxes open to reveal a large row of weaponry that seemed to originate from a science fiction movie.

The trench coated man bent down and grabbed one of the weapons, a deep chrome weapon with a rectangular-shaped barrel painted black with a handgrip covered in yellow and black striped tape. The stock was collapsible, and very bear with no real magazine, other than a small box that looked like it could barely fit one bullet. The trench coated man then reached onto the inside of the lid and grabbed onto a magazine, which was made of plastic, and slammed it into the gun.

"This is expensive piece of military hardware," the trench coated man said, his voice deep and almost animalistic ally cruel sounding. "HA-22 Coil gun, fused with electromagnets within the barrel and powered by lithium core within the gun that allows the bullet to be fired at nearly the speed of sound if not faster. This gun is currently worth millions on the black market."

The man in the red suit looked at the trench coated man suspiciously, as he grabbed the gun. He placed it hand on it, attempting to get a good feel of the gun. He then aimed it towards a dismantled and pulled the trigger. The gun fired and within less than a second, the car's side exploded with the force of a grenade before flipping onto a pile of scrap metal. The red suit man smiled, looking at the gun with a greedy look in his eye.

"The Roses would greatly appreciate these weapons, Mr. Hun." He said coldly. "Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be getting your money this evening."

The trench coated man, who was apparently named Hun, raised a thin eyebrow, that single motion sending shivers down Hisako's spine. He then crossed his arms, every one of his large muscles relaxing.

"_Uh-oh._" Donny muttered. "_I recognize that technique. Predators use it before they plan to attack._"

Hisako was beginning to shake violently, small flashes of various red images flitting across the connection. Leo pulled his sister closer, trying to calm her down. They needed to get out of there, but they couldn't escape without being seen, so they would just have to wait until this exchange was over.

"I highly recommend that you rethink your previous statement." Hun warned, malice lacing his already menacing voice.

"I have thought about it," The red suited man said musingly as he aimed the gun at Hun. "But, you see, I can't in good conscious part with such a large sum of money. On the other hand, I see it as a great disadvantage on my part for you to have these weapons and not the Roses. And we can't have that can we?"

The sound of the coils humming in the barrel began to grow as the tip started to glow red hot. The Red Suited Man smiled as his finger danced on the trigger.

"Goodbye-"

"No!"

The scream left Hisako's mouth before she could stop herself. Almost immediately, Leo covered her mouth, pulling them deeper into their hiding spot. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Hun, the red suited man, his driver, and all five of the motorcycle riders all turned towards the sound of her scream.

"Who da f*** was dat?" the driver asked.

"It appears that we have an eavesdropper." the red suited man replied. "How unfortunate… for them."

The Red Suited Man quickly turned and aimed the gun at the direction where he'd heard the cry. His driver quickly pulled out a pistol, aiming his gun at the motorheads as a few more men began to emerge from the car, all of them armed.

Hun's eyes widened as he realized a shootout was about to ensue before he turned to his gang. His voice became almost alien, speaking in an unknown language but the motorheads nodded and got behind the van and drew their guns.

"_Guys, we need to bail, now!_" Leo ordered.

"_How?_" Raph asked. "_You and Hisako are pinned, and frankly, you can't fight and carry her at the same time!_"

"_I'm thinking!_" Leo screamed.

By now, the red suited man was drawing closer and closer to Leo and Hisako. They both closed their eyes, waiting to be discovered. However, before they were found, someone knocked over a small pile of garbage. It caused the red suited man to pause, turning towards the sound.

"Another one?" he muttered.

Using the momentary distraction, Leo took Hisako and leapt from his spot, dunking behind the nearest pile for cover. Unfortunately, they were discovered, and when they made another run, the attackers were ready for them.

The suited man turned and aimed the gun towards the two fleeing siblings, looking down the scope as he fired. The gun glowed bright red before striking Leo in the chest with a large cue-ball shaped bullet, sending him flying back and Hisako spinning out of his grasp. The red-suited man looked confused at the gun, then angered as he turned towards Hun.

"Non-lethal guns!" He shouted, "You brought me Non-Lethal Guns! You filthy wanker!"

The red suited man turned back towards Hun, who pulled out a much larger gun. It was easily the size of his bulky arm, with coils welded to the barrel and a large yellow cylinder where a magazine would go. He lifted it towards the Red suited man and smiled.

"Goodbye."

The gun glowed and fired a pure red laser straight into the man's chest. The suited man flew into the car, his suit burned and a large red-glowing hole going through his stomach as his body went limp. The driver freaked out as he looked towards Hun again, who aimed for the red man's vehicle gas tank. The gun glowed and the laser flew towards the vehicle, which erupted into flames.

Leo's shell-like torso had prevented too much damage and he was already starting to rise. However, Hisako was not doing well. She was curled up in a little ball where she had fallen, hyperventilating like mad. Through the connection she still held with her brothers, she began broadcasting multiple Red Images.

All around the motorheads and the turtles, images of eight foot tall humanoid red shapes began to appear. Their eyes and mouths glowing white as they pointed and laughed at random people. Suddenly the whole area became surrounded in a ring of almost purplish reddish fire. Hun looked around, his motorheads attempted to swing at them, but their weapons only flashed through them.

"What is the meaning of this?" The trench coated man shouted.

As if to answer his question, a hideous taunting laughter filled everyone's minds. Blanketing their thoughts in fog, making it impossible to think rationally.

"Stop this, or I will kill you!" Hun replied, waving the laser rifle at random directions.

"_Uh oh…_" Leo thought, looking down at his panicking sister. "_We're in trouble now._"

"_Hey Leo!_" Mikey's voice suddenly came through, "_Those motor mouths are distracted. Maybe we can take them down and get a police reward?_"

"_Not a bad idea Mikey_," Raph replied, "_Except I don't think the police would let four giant turtles claim a reward."_

_"We can't just do nothing?"_ Donny countered, "_These are criminals and murderers! We need to make sure they don't hurt anyone again."_

_"You have to admit that Red had it coming though."_ Mikey stated bluntly.

_"Mikey!"_ The other three mentally chastised.

_"So, Cowabunga?"_ Mikey asked, almost grinning at the aspect.

From four different areas of the dump, the four brothers shared a smile, drawing their weapons.

"Cowabunga!" The four shouted, hopping into the fray.

Donatello was the first to reach the motorheads, planting his staff into the ground and kicking him to the ground. Another motorhead saw this and went to aid his fallen comrade. However, that's when Mikey jumped right in front of him.

"Surprise, dude." Mikey said before whacking him with his Nunchucks. "Yeah!"

One of the motorheads jumped onto one of the parked bikes, revving the engine to try and run the orange turtle. Mikey simply flipped out of the way, landing on the back of the cycle and kicking him free of his seat. This accidentally twisted the handle, sending the bike, the motorhead, and Mikey flying off of a junk pile. A fourth ran towards the van, looking back over his shoulder as he rounded the corner to see Leonardo with twin katanas.

"Now where do you think you're going?" He asked as he spun his wrists.

The fifth and final motorhead ran to his bike, hoping to get away with his life. He pumped the ignition, only getting the failing grunts of the engine spinning but not turning over. He looked down to see a thin metal sai piercing through the gas tank, the fuel dribbling into a small puddle beneath the bike. He grasped the handle of the weapon, pulling it free. He suddenly felt the forcefully tapping on his shoulder. He turned around, and received a painful punch to the face.

"That's mine."

As his compatriots fell around him, Hun was still dealing with the Red Images around him. He lifted his fist attempting to punch it, but his hand phased through it and he felt nothing. He began to wave his hand through it, and growled an inhuman sound.

"These aren't real." He murmured, before looking around.

On a nearby junk pile, he noticed Hisako still laying where her brothers had left her. Her eyes were widened with panic as she looked around, her hands gripping her head as she hyperventilated. Hun looked the images and smiled.

"So that's what she can do." He began to approach, gripping the laser rifle tightly in his hands, "She'll make a pretty penny on the market with a trait like that."

He got close, reaching down to grab her. He never even got the chance before Hisako sat up, looking right at him.

"Get away from me!"

She threw her hands out and this strange green electricity came shooting from her fingers. It connected with the trench coated man's head and his eyes flew open. He reached back, his eyes beginning to spin so quickly they appeared blank as his memories flashed around him. People's voices flooded his mind, at a million words a second, scenes flooded his mind as if he was living his life ten times at once. He looked around and the world seemed to move so quickly it was still. He looked at Hisako who appeared as twenty individuals and suddenly her fist connected with his face and the world went black.

"Owwww." She winced, blood pouring from her knuckles. "That hurt."

With the motorheads down, the brothers began to make their way to Hisako who, like a kitten, was licking her bloodied knuckles in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding. She whimpered as she looked up at Raph, who glanced back at the downed Hun.

"I don't even want to know what you did to him." He said sternly, "Let me see that hand."

Removing his red bandana, he gripped Hisako's hand and began to wrap it around her knuckles.

"This thing should stop a lot of the bleeding." He said calmly,

"Sorry for ruining it," Hisako whimpered as her hand shook in his grip.

"Ruining it!?" Raph exclaimed jokingly as he tied the knot, "Sis, you must be colorblind. I won't notice a thing."

Suddenly the quietness of the night was interrupted by the sound of distance police sirens. Mikey looked towards the bridge as the city lights began to flicker back to life. He turned back to his brothers who also began to notice. The flickering of the junkyard spotlights clicking back to life, before shining down on them.

"We need to get out of here." Raph exclaimed, "The last thing we need is to end up on the Channel 6 News."

The brothers shared a nod, preparing to make a run for the sewers. That is, until Mikey turned to the abandoned vehicles. His expression changed to that of an idea and he smiled.

"I call shotgun!" He exclaimed.

The brothers looked at the vehicles shaking their heads.

"Mikey, what are you doing?" Leo asked.

"Duh. I'm calling shotgun." Mikey replied.

"What's the point?" Raph asked. "I mean, none of us can drive."

That's when Hisako got an idea.

"Leo, put me down next to one of the motorheads really quick."

The brothers looked at each other and shrugged. They walked her over to the still unconscious motorheads, as she giggled at them.

"I've been wanting to try this for a while." She said, with an innocent girl's excitement.

She reached forward, planting her fingers onto the helmet of the motorhead before closing her eyes. In her mind, she saw the man's life and dreams and ambitions. For some reason ballet dancer was coming up a lot. Pushing past that, she finally found an image of a young boy at the wheel of a large truck smiling. She grabbed onto his imagery, and pulled. She opened her eyes and turned to Leonardo and planted her fingers on his forehead.

"Here we go." She said,

Suddenly, Leonardo was receiving images which seemed bizarre to him. He was in the driver seat of a rusted old truck, with Master Splinter in the passenger seat, telling him how great he was doing and how proud he was. He teared up a bit, before shaking the emotion away.

"Did it work?" She said, as the sirens got louder.

"Let's hope so." He replied, as they returned to the large van.

They all piled into the van, Hisako getting the passenger seat despite Mikey's dibs. Unfortunately, thanks to all the weaponry still in the back, there was only room for the four of them, leaving Raph with nowhere to sit.

"Hey, where am I supposed to sit?" he asked.

"I dunno, on the roof?" Mikey retorted.

Raph slapped Mikey as Hisako stumbled back out of the van, shakily walking over to another unconscious motorhead. Once again, she planted her fingers onto his forehead and delved into his mind, seeing the world as he did. It was a mean world, unfair in much of its nature. No one really understood her, and she wanted to rebel because of it. She soon found the image of a young teen, smoking a joint on the back of a motorcycle. She grabbed that imagery and turned to Raphael.

"Here you go." She said, placing the image in his brain.

Suddenly, his brain was filled with bizarre imagery, much like his brother had witnessed. He was sitting on a large Suzuki motorcycle when three men came up on similar bikes. They spoke to him in some oriental language which Raph instinctively recognized as Japanese. He replied in the same language before leaning on the bike. A young woman walked in front of them all waving a white cloth and the engines revved. The cloth dropped and they flew.

Raphael was pumped with energy as he came out of it. He looked to the bike with a mischievous smile.

"Woohoo!" He screamed, "Let's get rocking!"

He placed Hisako back in the van, then hopped onto the bike and revved the engine. The sirens came over the bridge, the police cars blaring loudly as they entered the junkyard. They began to circle, but at the point of arrival there was nothing there besides the knocked out motorheads, and the destroyed Roses car. They began to inspect the area, flashing their flashlights everywhere, until one came across Hun.

"Captain, you may want to see this."


	5. Aftermath

The large van sped through the city, roaring through the quiet streets of the lower New York Area. The streetlights flashed yellow, and cars sat solemnly on both sides of the road. The city seemed eerily quiet as the engine roared through the streets. Mikey's head hung out of the window, his tongue flapping about like a dog's as he smiled. He brought his head back in, rolling up the window as he turned to Leo.

"I didn't know you knew how to drive." Mikey said with a smile, "That's rad!"

"I didn't." Leo replied, still trying to get used to the steering wheel in hand, even though it felt like he'd been driving for years. "Hisako's the one that gave me the memories."

Hisako sat quietly in the back of the van, twiddling her thumbs with Donny by her side. He looked at his sister with fascination.

"So, you can create an artificial imitation of someone's memory, and then transplant it into another person?" he asked.

Hisako nodded, a pleased smile on her face.

"I've never been able to test my powers before." she explained. "It was nice to be able to do some good without-"

She cut herself off, her smile fading. Donny quickly wrapped his arm around her to comfort her. The remainder of the drive was quiet as they tried to find a place to hide their new truck. Suddenly, there was a knock on the driver's side window. Leo looked down to see Raph, who was waving from his newly acquired bike.

"What is it, Raph?" he asked, rolling down the window.

"I think I found a spot." he replied. "And not a moment too soon. The sun's coming up, and frankly, this bike ain't too kind to my shell."

The truck swerved at a four way intersection and stopped in front of a large abandoned garage. The gates were rusted, and the old neon sign read 'RENAISSANCE MOTOR COMPANY - Pride of New York' was seen in the rising sunlight.

"It'll do." Leo decided. "Let's go"

He slowly turned the large van into the parking lot. Raph quickly hopped off the bike to open the door to the garage. He easily snapped the rusted chain with his sai, pulling the door open. Leo pulled the van in as Raph walked the bike in after. Once everyone was inside, they closed the gate and smiled.

"Not a bad place." Mikey remarked as he climbed out of the van. "A little paint here, maybe a couch there, could be real nice."

Leo pulled Hisako out of the truck, placing her on his back. She yawned as he did, the excitement and adrenaline finally wearing off.

"We'll come back tonight." Leo decided. "Maybe we can use the truck and the bike to our advantage,"

"Before we do, I'm gonna need to make some serious adjustments to the bike." Raph interjected. "Luckily, Hisako's little memory bit has given me a whole bunch of ideas."

"Well, we better start heading back." Donny said, as he looked out the dusted windows of the garage. "Master Splinter is probably worried sick about us."

With that thought in mind, the turtles quickly scrambled into action, locating a sewer grate not far from the back entrance of the garage. Mikey pried it open with his Nunchucks, holding the grate for his brothers. Donny jumped down first, then Raph, then finally Leo with Hisako on his back. Mikey jumped in last, leaving the cover to clatter back into place.

They all climbed down the ladder, tiredly returning to their home. Each of them was thoroughly exhausted, ready for a day or two of rest.

"Man…" Donny said through a huge yawn. "I didn't realize it before, but I am completely wiped."

"I hear you Don, " Raph replied. "An actual fight is a lot more intense than training."

"Maybe we can convince Sensei to give us the day off from training, just this once." Mikey added, a hopeful expression on his face.

As the five siblings approached the door to the lair, they could hear what sounded like a news story playing on the TV.

"**The city is still attempting to return order to the streets after last night's city wide blackout, which lasted for nearly 12 hours. Police and city officials are baffled as to the cause of the power failure, though investigations are currently underway.**"

"Sounds like Master Splinter is watching the report about last night." Leo reported.

That's when a thought crossed their minds, one that made their hair stand on end.

"You don't think that what happened at the dump will be on the news, do you Leo?" Mikey asked.

As if to answer his question, the news report began playing again.

"**In related news, reports of looting, traffic accidents, and other crimes have been flooding in since the phone lines were reestablished. Among these reports is a particularly interesting case involving the notorious Sicilian Roses. Police were called to the New York City Waste Management facility, where what appeared to be the aftermath of a firefight. So far, the second party of this deadly shootout have yet to be identified.-**"

The TV suddenly went silent, as if Master Splinter had turned it off. The five siblings all exchanged worried glances. Then the door to the lair opened up as Splinter came to greet them.

"You are late returning from your errand." he told them in an even tone. "Did you succeed in retrieving a new table for our lair?"

Splinter raised a furry eyebrow as he looked at them. The five of them all looked at each other. In all of the confusion, they had forgotten their true purpose for going to the dump in the first place. All five of them looked up at Splinter sheepishly.

"Well, not exactly." Leo replied.

"We kind of-" Raph began nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "-Got a bit of a little… umm side tracked."

"You see, there were these big ugly gangsters in the dump." Mikey began explaining.

Leonardo's eyes widened as Donatello slapped his hand over Mikey's mouth. Raph glared daggers at his brother, snarling under his breath.

"Way to go, motor mouth." the red turtle growled.

Splinter knocked the end of his cane on the ground as the five looked at him in shock.

"Enough!" He said as he raised his staff and gingerly moved Donatello's hand from Mikey's mouth.

"Michelangelo, I want you to explain to me what happened. Slowly.

Splinter glared at the other four, their heads bowed down in a mixture of fear, guilt, and respect. Splinter then returned his attention to Mikey, and rolled his hand as if to tell him to continue. Mikey took a deep breath and continued.

"Then there was this even bigger guy flanked by about five motorheads in black leather suits. The bigger guy tried to sell the gangsters guns, but the gangsters tried to cheat him. They were gonna shoot each other, but Hisako screamed and we fought and-"

Splinter held up a single hand, cutting off the orange turtle. He then pinched the bridge of his snout, his brow furrowed in worry and anger.

"You fought with these-" Splinter motioned to the now turned off television set. "These Sicilian Roses,"

"No, the other dudes." Mikey clarified, "The ones who were selling the guns."

Splinter nodded, making a sound of understanding as he turned back to the turtles. He tapped his staff a bit before smacking Mikey on the head.

"You dared to go up against heavily armed men." Splinter shouted. The turtles, and especially Hisako, were taken aback. "You could have been hurt, or- you could have-"

His expression went from one of anger to one of worry, and then sadness. He looked at them as a single tear rolled down his face.

"You could have been killed." He murmured as he placed his staffed against the ground. "I don't know what I would do if you had been killed. You had me worried more than I feel comfortable to admit."

The siblings all exchanged glances before approaching their sensei. Leo gently released Hisako, who crawled over to the rat and leaned against him. She could feel the swirl of negative emotions and thoughts swirling around in his head. She took his hand, smiling up at him.

"We weren't though, Master Splinter." Hisako told him. "You should have seen them. They took down those bad guys easily."

"Yeah." Raph agreed. "Even Hisako helped. She kept us in contact, provided a distraction, and she even took down the biggest thug of the bunch by herself."

Splinter looked up at his children as they all knelt down next to him. Leo spoke up, saying what was on all of their minds.

"Sensei, we did some good tonight. Thanks to us, innocent people are safe from those criminals who tried to flood the streets with weapons. But there are more men like that out there, men who we can stop."

He bowed his head down respectfully.

"But only if you will let us do what you trained us to do."

Donny joined Leo in his respectful bow, Raphael quickly following suit. A quick tug on Mikey's hair got him bowed down as well. Splinter looked down at his sons, then at his daughter as she looked up at him. Though he was still worried for his children, he knew that he could not stop them. He had trained them, hoping to protect them, and now he could only hope it would be enough.

"Very well." he sighed. "I know I cannot stop you from venturing into the world above, nor can I stop you from helping the innocent."

The boys all looked up, exchanging happy smiles. Even Hisako was smiling, the prospect of seeing the stars again making her heart leap with joy.

"However," Splinter interrupted. "Your training is far from complete. Though you may have been victorious this time, it was by luck alone."

The turtles had to admit, Splinter had a point. They had been pinned down. Leo probably would have been dead if the weapon fired at him had been real. This realization brought everything into perspective.

"If you are going to insist on going above ground, your training must intensify so you can handle the enemies above."

Mikey let out an audible groan, any hope of getting out of training today flying out the window. Splinter's tail came up and smacked Mikey on the back of the head.

"Do not take me lightly, Michelangelo." he warned. "In the past, your ventures to the surface have only been to gather supplies. You have no idea the dangers you may face. If you do not believe me, ask Hisako."

Hisako shivered, pulling the sleeves of her clothes down over her arms.

"And speaking of Hisako," Splinter added, turning towards her. "When you are able to stand on your own, you will join your brothers in their ninjitsu training."

Hisako's eyes lit up at the thought, a wide smile coming to her face.

"You mean it?" she asked. "I'm gonna be a ninja?"

"Aw yeah!" Mikey exclaimed. "Our little sis is gonna be a ninja!"

"The correct term is Kunoichi, Mikey." Donny clarified. "But yeah, she will."

Hisako struggled to her feet, pushing past her fatigue with a newfound resolve.

"Come on guys!" she called. "I need to get training if I'm gonna be able to walk!"

Their sister's drive was contagious, and all four of them joined her. Splinter watched them run off, both worried and proud at the same time. Though they were only 13, they were showing a maturity beyond their years. With a proud smile, he settled onto his meditation mat to watch their training.

…

Down in the basement of an unknown corporate office, there was a windowless room with slick black concrete walls and smooth granite floors that held a collection of six small bathtub shaped holes. These holes were filled with a strange, almost silvery liquid. At the moment, all six tubs were occupied, five of them by the motor heads from the dump, and the sixth by Hun.

The large bulkhead doors that served as the room's only entry slowly opened with an ominous hiss and a loud bang. The sounds of rhythmic bubbling are soon accompanied by the clicking sounds of two pairs of combat boots on the stone floors.

Two men, covered head to toe in heavy combat gear ranging from a gas mask to body armor, marched in. In their hands, they held the same futuristic weapons the men in the tubs had attempted to sell off. They ignored the five motorheads, approaching Hun. They stood on opposite ends of the tub, looking at each other. With almost robotic precision, they nodded, then lifted up their weapons, preparing to bring the butt of the guns down on his head.

The silvery liquid erupted as two meaty fists came out, catching the two guns before they could strike him. Hun's eyes flew open as he stood up, tossing the two guns aside. Almost effortlessly, he pulled his hulking frame out of the pool, the silvery liquid clinging to him like glue.

"The Master demands your presence." One of the men declared.

Hun let out a guttural growl, then turned away from the men, walking towards the doors. Taking his clothes from where they hung on a hook, he walked into a decontamination chamber, where the remnants of the silvery liquid were removed. How cleaned off and fully dressed, Hun made his way to a lone elevator.

The door opened for him, as if expecting him, and he stepped in. He watched the doors close and the floor numbers slowly begin to rise as he made his way to the top of the building. The door opened with a cheery ping, revealing a scene right out of an old Japanese movie. The floor resembled a Japanese temple mixed with a martial arts dojo. Black banners with a red symbol similar to a dragon's claw hung from the walls, illuminated by a dozen tall braziers. At the end of the room, there was a simple table, where a man knelt sipping on a cup of tea. His face was obscured by the shadows, but he had an aura about him that radiated power and dominance.

Hun walked up to the table, stopping a few feet away. Here, he went to his knees, placing his forehead on the ground.

"Master." Hun spoke, his deep voice quieted by humility.

The Master took a long sip from the cup, savoring the taste of the tea before holding the cup in his lap. He looked down at Hun, his eyes gleaming with a fiery anger.

"Hun." the Master spoke in a deep, raspy voice. An accent of clearly oriental nature could be heard. "I have brought you here to discuss the events of last night."

"Master, I-" Hun began.

"Silence." the Master interrupted, his soft voice quickly ending Hun's words.

The Master set his tea cup aside. Almost immediately, a young woman in a white kimono and geisha mask emerged from the darkness, relieving the Master of his cup. The Master then placed his hands on the knees of his crossed legs.

"My sources have told me of the events that occurred." He began, his voice unable to hide the sheer disappointed that dripped from his lips. "And how you failed me."

Hun shivered as he felt his master's eyes drilled into him, like a viper lying in wait, preparing to strike at him.

"Explain yourself."

Hun took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves.

"Master, I did as you commanded. The Sicilian Roses are no more."

"I understand that." He said, as he slowly crossed his arms across his chest. "But you have yet to answer the truly important question. The question I demand answers for because these are the things I care about more than your miserable life. Where are my possessions, Mr. Hun?"

Hun's words caught in his throat. He gulped, already knowing his master would not like his answer. Those merciless eyes glared upon him, demanding an answer.

"I do not know, sir."

The room fell silent as the Master looked down on Hun. Then, there was a rustle of fabric as the Master stood, his feet barely making a sound as he walked towards Hun. Hun barely had time to look up before a slender hand came out of nowhere, catching him across the throat and lifting his massive frame into the air as if he weighed nothing.

"So, you are telling me that you misplaced not only my weapons, but over 15 million dollars?"

He didn't raise his voice, but the hand at Hun's throat spoke volumes. Unable to lie, Hun let out a raspy affirmative through his crushed windpipes. The Master scoffed in disgust, then tossed him aside. Hun struggled to his feet, only to be pinned beneath the Master's foot.

"Give me one reason why I should not end your pathetic life."

Hun spoke quickly, praying his words would be enough to prolong his life.

"The Roses were not the only ones at the exchange, Master."

The Master raised an eyebrow as he carefully placed his foot back on the floor. His expression held a questioning look, as if to ask what Hun meant. He wasn't out of the fire yet, but his chances of living through the night were looking better.

"There was a third party at the exchange." Hun explained, not moving from where his master has deposited him. "I do not know if they were allies of the Roses, or merely unforeseen bystanders."

"You let yourself be taken by surprise?" the Master questioned. "This exchange took months of planning, and you let this 'third party' surprise you."

"They were unlike anything we were prepared for." Hun defended. "A group of five, well trained in the martial arts. They moved faster than any creature I have seen before, and the fifth one-"

As he tried to describe the fifth one, he was suddenly plagued by an ear-splitting headache as blood poured out both of his nostrils. He clutched his head in pain, falling forward and bringing his head to the ground. Beneath him, a small pool of blood was beginning to form.

Despite the Master's seemingly emotionless state, he took a step back in surprise of the reaction, having never seen Hun react so badly to such a simple demand. There were clearly other forces at work.

"Call in Dr. Stockman." the Master ordered to the Geisha. "I want him up here immediately."

The geisha bowed, then gracefully walked to do the Master's bidding. Suddenly, Hun's back straightened up, his forehead pulsing with a large vein, and his face a bright red as blood sprayed across the floor.

"No!" He shouted, "Don't! Don't bring him here! Don't bring him here!"

His voice echoing through the large room as his hands gripped his pulsing head, trying to subdue the force crippling him. That's when he heard the loud bang of the closing office doors and saw a man in a bright white lab coat strutting towards him.

This man was of African descent, with close cropped black hair and silver eyes that held a sadistic gleam to them. He wore a clean suit underneath his pristine coat, and held himself like a man who saw himself as above the entire world. As he approached Hun, he smiled down at his writhing form, obviously enjoying the sight.

"Well… Well… Well," Dr. Stockman spoke, adjusting his glasses with the palm of his hand, "What on Earth do we have here?"

Hun went to answer, but even the slightest movement of his head made the pain worse. Intrigued, Stockman bent down, taking a closer look at the hulking behemoth.

"Hmm, it would seem that you're suffering from some kind of mental hemorrhaging." Stockman looked at him with a renewed interested as he, again, adjusted his glasses. "Tell me, have you suffered from any mentally traumatic experiences in the past few days?"

Hun snarled through the pain, spitting at Stockman in utter contempt. Stockman closed his eyes as the viscous slime clung to his glasses and cheek. He stood up, removing his glasses and cleaning them with his lab coat.

"So," he said, as he finished wiping his cheek. "It's going to be that way."

He put his glasses back on and raised his foot. Then, with a strength one would not expect from one with a weaker build, Stockman kicked Hun hard enough to flip him onto his back. But he didn't finish there. He soon delivered another kick to his stomach, then another to his throat, and one more to his sternum. With the doctor losing himself in the furry of blows, the Master, Hun's master, watched for a few moments before clearing his throat and looking towards Stockman.

"Enough." he said.

Stockman's glasses were crooked, hanging from his face as he stepped back. His face had gained shades of red as he looked towards the Master. His eyes dilated as he looked at Hun, fixing his glasses and letting out a small cough.

"My apologies, sir." He said humbly, straightening his lab coat. "It appears that I have lost control of myself."

"See that it does not happen again."

Hun could merely groan, unable to move more than a barely noticeable twitch without pain coursing through his body. However, it became immediately clear to the Master that the bleeding had stopped and the pulsing veins had subsided back into his forehead. Hun had somehow been cured of his mental ailment through the violence of Dr. Stockman.

"Has your memory been refreshed?" the Master asked with malicious sarcasm coating his every word.

Hun merely nodded, still trying to regain his breath. The Master then bend down, taking hold of Hun's long braid and lifting his head.

"Then, tell me everything you can about these five interlopers." The master spoke calmly, but still staring coldly down at Hun. "And don't leave out a single detail this time."

"I am afraid there is little to tell." Hun replied. "My men and I were incapacitated by strange apparitions created by-"

A flicker of pain stopped Hun from continuing. However, The Master understood what he meant.

"Created by this fifth element."

Hun gave a nod.

"Yes. These apparitions allowed the other four to incapacitate my men with ease. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a good look at any of the five of them… and I fear that if I did..."

"The fifth element has prevented you from remembering." The Master concluded.

Again, Hun nodded. Stockman, who had been leaning against a pillar listening, seemed to rub his chin in contemplation.

"An unknown entity with the ability to produce illusions powerful enough and vivid enough to incapacitate six of your best soldiers." He remarked. "It sounds like an interesting specimen to say the least, sir."

"Indeed, Stockman" The Master said, unfolding his hands as he rubbed his chin in concentration. "If I remember correctly, you mentioned something very similar during your…'experiments'... with Project Oracle."

Stockman let out a cough, nodding in agreement.

"That I did." he said. "Alas, Project Oracle is lost to us. My men have combed the streets, and it would seem that dear Oracle is gone for good. Shame."

The Master rubbed his chin again, remembering the day he was informed of the tragedy in the lab.

"Stockman." The master said, turning his full attention to Stockman, "How certain are we of the death of the Oracle Project?"

Stockman thought for a minute, doing some quick calculations in his head. After a moment, he adjusted his glasses.

"There is a 94.83% chance that Oracle was indeed destroyed. I will admit, there is a 5.17% margin for error, but in my personal-"

"Stockman." Master interrupted, slowing walking towards Stockman as he clenched his hand. "I distinctly remember you telling me WHEN this happened, there was no chance that Oracle could have survived. Are you telling me that you may have been... mistaken?"

Stockman's cocky, greater-than-thou attitude began to falter. He coughed again as sweat began to drip down his face.

"Yes… I did say that… but that was before I was able to review all the facts and allow for the slight possibility that Oracle had…. Indeed… eluded us."

The Master grabbed Stockman's collar stared deeply into his eyes. His expression was one of pure anger, his teeth gritted.

"So, what you have just revealed to me is that you not only think Oracle is still alive. But that Oracle is out in the real world?" Master asked, clearly holding back the urge to kill, "Do you not know what an organization could do if they had Oracle…"

Stockman began waving his arm frantically.

"Believe me, sir. If anyone knows what Oracle is capable of, it is me. However, the margin of error is so miniscule, that it is highly unlikely that this fifth element is Oracle. Odds are, it's an entity with similar, if not the same abilities."

The master released Stockman's collar and began to walk away. Stockman let out a sigh of relief, standing once more and straightening his collar.

"Stockman…" The Master said, not even looking at him. "You are telling me that Oracle was not an individual case?"

The master reached his former sitting position, as Stockman was about to speak.

"Because if there is a chance that we can recoup our losses from the...Oracle Tragedy." He turned to Stockman, "Then we should take every opportunity to embrace this. Do you not think?"

Stockman smiled.

"Of course." he agreed. "Project Oracle was an interesting specimen, but with secrets that even I could not uncover. Perhaps this fifth element will be a bit more… willing… to divulge what makes it tick."

He gave a shrug.

"And who knows, maybe I'll find a use for the other four. I am in need of new test subjects."

The Master gave an approving nod at Stockman, then turned back to Hun. The hulking man had managed to right himself after the physical and mental beating, and was currently kneeling in front of the Master once more.

"Hun." The master called. "I will give you a chance to redeem yourself for last night's failure."

"Thank you, Master." Hun replied with a deep bow.

"Your mission is to find these attackers, all of them, and capture them alive." The Master ordered. "I will not accept another failure."

Hun remained bowed, grateful for a second chance. He eventually rose, walking out of the master's temple-like office. Already, Hun was developing strategies for capturing these foes. He knew failure would mean his slow, and painful demise, a perfect motivator to do his duty.

As Hun disappeared back into the elevator, the master returned his attention to Stockman.

"And as for you," he added, "I want to review every piece of information regarding Project Oracle and the fate that befell her."

Stockman gave a nod of assent.

"As you command." Stockman replied.

The master's eyes narrowed as he stared down at Stockman.

"And this time, I want nothing less than absolute certainty in your findings."

Stockman gulped, but nodded again, then followed Hun out of the temple-like office. The Master watched them go, a malicious and evil glint in his eye.

"This time, there will be no mistakes."


	6. Fast Forward

Splinter kept true to his word, increasing the training of his sons to prepare them for the enemies of the surface. He also ensured that Hisako's physical therapy continued to progress, and with the memories of the stars fueling her, Hisako gained full mobility in just a few short months.

However, that was just the beginning of Splinter's plans for his children. Once Hisako could walk and run like a normal person, she joined her brothers in their training. She quickly proved to be an eager student, absorbing the knowledge and moves like a sponge. She even began putting Leonardo to shame with her dedication.

During this extensive period of training, which ended up lasting approximately four years, Hisako underwent a drastic physical change. She was much stronger now, her once stick-like arms now tones with the muscles of a gymnast. Her numerous scars had slowly faded and her ratty hair was now healthy and long. This positive change, combined with regular ventures to the surface and her unyielding dedication to her training, Hisako was finally confident enough in her abilities to take the test that would recognize her as an official _Kunoichi_.

…..

Splinter sat on his meditation mat, looking out onto the training ground. Donatello and Michelangelo were kneeling on the left side of the grounds while Raphael knelt on the right. From their spots, they watched Leonardo get into a fighting stance, katanas at the ready. Facing against him was Hisako, a pair of beautiful Japanese war fans, or tessen, in her hands.

"You ready Hisako?" Leo asked.

Hisako popped her neck, smiling.

"Oh yeah."

Splinter raised his paw in the air, then brought it down in a chopping motion.

"Begin!"

Leonardo struck first, his first swipe coming at an almost blinding speed. Hisako quickly dodged it, her smile becoming somewhat cocky.

"Gonna have to do better than that, Leo!"

He struck again, but she quickly rolled out of the way. Getting back to her feet, she opened her fans and swiped at him. Strike after strike, Leo either evaded or blocked with his katanas. During one block, Leo twisted his sword and disarmed Hisako, sending one of her fans flying across the mat. It soared towards Donnie and Mikey, who raised their hands to catch it. Unfortunately, they both missed and it collided with the wall and clattered to the ground. Hisako looked back at her weapon as Leo pointed his sword at her neck.

"Ready to give up?" Leo asked.

"Not a chance." Hisoka responded.

She ran forward and performed a jumping kick, knocking one of his swords out of his hands. This put Leo on the defensive as she continued to slice at him, forcing him to dodge every attack and preventing him from gaining room to respond. He quickly leaped back a bit in an attempt to gain the upper hand, but Hisako merely followed his movements. He performed a quick leg sweep, sending Hisako to the ground. However, she managed to hook onto his legs during the fall, tripping him and bringing him to the ground too.

"Nice one." Leo admitted.

"Same to you." Hisako agreed.

Both of them were quick to get back to their feet, preparing their remaining weapons as they charged toward each other. Their respective strikes were so hard that they knocked each other's weapons out of their hands. The two then fell back onto hand to hand combat, trading punches, jabs and kicks with unerring accuracy.

Leo went for a roundhouse kick, but Hisako dropped to the ground in order to duck it. Once Leo restructured himself, Hisako sprang back up with an uppercut to the jaw, knocking him to the ground. As he prepared to get up, Hisako planted her foot on his shell, placing two fingers on his forehead.

"_Yame_!" Splinter called.

Both Hisako and Leo were panting as the former got off the latter. Hisako offered a hand up, one that Leo gladly accepted.

"Great job, Hisako." He complimented as he collected his swords. "You got me good."

"Yeah!" Raph agreed. "I thought he had you with that spin kick, but you came back strong."

"I guess all those push-ups you've been doing really paid off." Donnie agreed.

"I don't know..." Mikey disagreed. "Near the end, it almost looked like-"

Splinter's tail came up, whacking Mikey across the head hard. The orange turtle yelped as Splinter came forward.

"You have done well, my child." He congratulated her. "It pleases me to announce your graduation, and to grant you the official title of Kunoichi."

Hisako grinned widely, then jumped into the air cheering.

"Yes!" she cried. "I did it!"

Both Leo and Raph grabbed her, hoisting her onto their shoulders as she punched the air happily.

"I say this calls for a celebration!" Raph suggested.

"How's about a run topside and some rooftop pizza?" Donny asked.

"Oh yeah!" Mikey shouted. "Let's do it!"

Hisako grinned, then leapt off of her brothers' shoulders to get a head star.

"Last one topside hatched from a rotten egg!" She announced.

The four brothers all shared pleased expressions before taking off after their sister. Before Leo could go, Splinter intercepted him.

"You did not have to provide her with that opening." he told him.

Leo just shrugged before resuming his chase.

"It was worth it!"

…..

Hun knelt before his master, his hulking frame just barely maintaining the illusion of calm. Before him, his master paced irritably, an aura of seething rage surrounding the man like a blanket.

"Four years." The master hissed. "For four year, you have had but one task; locate the five interlopers. And yet, you cannot even perform that simple task!"

The master ceased pacing, his fist coming down on his desk so hard that the various papers flew off of it, fluttering to the ground. The sound of the blow caused Hun to jump violently, his heart racing with fear.

"Master-"

"I will not hear any more of your excuses!" The master interrupted.

Hun flinched, but wisely remained silent. The master then stalked towards him, grabbing his hair and forcing him to look him in the eye.

"I grow tired of waiting." he snarled. "If you do not have these creatures in 48 hours, you can consider your position terminated."

He dropped Hun's hair, the behemoth falling to the ground.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Hun gulped, then slowly got back onto his knees.

"Yes, master."

…..

The turtles and Hisako sat on top of the Manhattan water tower, a large meat lover's pizza balanced precariously on the top of the cone-like roof. All five of them munched on their slices as they stared up at the stars. They were playing the very same game that Leo and Hisako had done on her first adventure to the surface. It had become a sort of tradition now, one that all five of them thoroughly enjoyed.

"I see a giraffe eating a plate of spaghetti." Mikey called out, pointing to a particular cluster of stars.

"I see… and elephant playing the trombone." Donnie countered.

"I see… an aardvark driving a school bus." Hisako added.

"That's a good one sis, but I think I got one better." Raph chuckled. "I see… Mikey wearing a clown costume."

That elicited a chuckle from everyone, though Mikey decided to throw his pizza crust instead. As the laughter died down, Hisako turned to Leo.

"Alright, your turn."

Leo squinted up at the sky, trying to find the perfect picture.

"I see-"

A clatter in a nearby alleyway drew the blue turtle's attention. He turned, and his eyebrow raised.

"A group a purple dragons breaking into a convenience store!"

Everyone immediately abandoned their pizza, coming over to Leo's part of the tower. Looking down, they saw a gang of about five thugs wearing punk attire adorned with purple dragon insignias smashing a convenience store window with crowbars.

"Don't these bozos ever learn?" Raph wondered out loud. "I mean, how many times do we have to kick their shells before they finally get the message?"

"Well, maybe this time, the message will stick." Hisako commented. "Leo?"

Leo drew his swords, then jumped off the tower. Hisako drew her fans as the remaining turtles readied their own weapons.

"Take it away Mikey." Donnie remarked.

"Cowabunga!" He shouted.

The two punks guarding the window looked up to see the five of them jumping from the tower, landing in the alley before them.

"Make this easy on yourselves, and drop the crowbars." Raph warned.

The two punks gripped their makeshift weapons as they charged at the turtles. One punk swung his crowbar at Raph, who gabbed with one of his Sais. Raph then twisted his wrist, yanking the crowbar out of the punk's hand. Now disarmed, Raph kicked the punk in the gut, sending him into the wall, knocking him out cold.

"Hey," a voice from inside the store questioned. "What was that?"

The other three punks, stuck their heads out of the broken window to see the five figures beating on their teammates.

"Oh no you don't!" One of the guys, most likely the leader due to his flashier attire, shouted. "Get 'em boys!"

The other two jumped through the broken window, running towards the five siblings. While his lackeys went to deal with the interlopers, the leader reached into his pocket and pressed a button on a small device emblazoned with a dragon's claw symbol.

Back in the fight, one punk swung his crowbar at Donnie. The purple turtle was quick to duck it and use his staff to jab his opponent in the gut. He then used his momentum to spin his staff around and struck him on the back of the head, knocking the punk out as he hit the ground.

Mikey came up to one punk and grabbed the guy's wrist with his Nunchucks. With a flip, he landed on the guy's back and began making the punk punch himself.

"Why are you hitting yourself?" Mikey taunted, punctuating each question with another forced punch. "Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?"

The punk tried to throw Mikey off his back, but the turtle merely flipped, using the trapped wrist to pin the punk to the ground.

"Nighty-night!"

With his second Nunchucks, Mikey conked the guy on the head, knocking him out cold.

Meanwhile, Leo was having a sword vs crowbar fight with the fourth punk. Leo's superior training gave them the edge needed to easily knock the crowbar out of his hand. He then used the hilt of his sword to strike the punk on the head, knocking him out. This left the last punk, the leader, all up to Hisako.

"You're going down, freaks!" The leader threatened. "Nobody messes with the Purple Dragons!"

Hisako just grinned, giving the guy a 'come-at-me' motion. The leader charged, repeatedly swinging at Hisako with his crowbar, but the girl just kept side stepping out of the way. Each failed hit seemed to enrage the leader further.

"Hold still, brat!"

He took a wild swing, one that would have knocked her head clean off… if it had connected. Instead, Hisako went under the swing and used her fans to sweep at his legs. The sharp edge of the fan sliced through his baggy pants like they were made of tissue paper. The punk looked down, then at Hisako. She winked, then closed her fan and brought it right up into his face. Blood squirted from his now broken nose as he fell to the ground.

"Punks..." Hisako said with a shake of her head. "May they never grow a brain."

The turtles all stowed their weapons as they tossed the punks into a pile.

"Well, that was fun." Raph remarked. "Though a bit too easy if you ask me."

"Yeah." Mikey added. "I mean, usually Hisako has to fry at least one of their brains. This time, they seemed to go down too easily."

"Easy or not, the job's done." Leo announced. "And we've got a pizza going cold."

The five of them grabbed onto a nearby fire escape, clamoring back up to the rooftops. As they settled back onto the water tower, Donnie heard a strange, barely audible, beeping.

"You guys hear that?" Donnie asked.

The others all looked around, also hearing the beep. They all instinctively grabbed their shell cells, thinking maybe Master Splinter was calling them. Surprisingly, none of their cells were going off, further confusing the five.

"Maybe it's the alarm from the store." Hisako suggested.

Mikey then snapped his fingers.

"Or it could be a bomb!"

Raph whacked him hard upside the head, sending the orange turtle falling off the tower. He landed with a loud thud on the roof. As she slowly got to his knees, he spotted a strange red light blinking from underneath the tower. Squinting into the darkness, he could make out the obvious shape of-

"A bomb!" Mikey screamed. "There's really a bomb!"

While they would usually blow their brother's ridiculous notions away, the terror in Mikey's voice got all four of them scrambling off the tower in seconds. As the four of them hit the rooftop, the beeping ceased as the bomb ignited. The force of the blast send the four turtles and their human sister flying across the roof, and the sudden wave of water that came from the tower washed them over the edge. Due to their years of training, the turtles were able to break their fall by landing on the fire escapes and clotheslines. With ease they were able to land safely on the ground, albeit hard. Hisako wasn't able to use the fire escapes to break her fall, but she did manage to land on something soft; an open dumpster full of garbage.

"Okay… That hurt." Mikey moaned.

The turtle slowly stood up, patting their shells down to make sure they weren't cracked, and dusting themselves off. Hisako then climbed out of the dumpster, rolling onto the street with a grunt.

"What the shell was that?" She groaned.

"Judging from the blast radius, as well as the force needed to propel us through the air, I'd say that was a homemade pipe bomb, most likely set to remotely detonate." Donny surmised.

"I think she meant why there was a bomb under the water tower, Brainiac." Raph snapped.

Mikey looked up at the opening of the alleyway, a worried expression crossing his face.

"Maybe you should ask them."

Everyone turned to see that a group of motorcycles were parked in front of the alley and an army of black suited men wearing full faced helmets were slowly closing in. Turning around, the five saw a similar situation occurring behind them. Everyone quickly drew their weapons, forming a circle.

"I remember these guys." Hisako whispered. "They're the motorheads from the dump. Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." Donnie hissed backed. "But that was four years ago, and there were only five of them."

"We can't underestimate them." Leo ordered. "Be ready. For anything."

Raph twirled his sai in his hands, a maniacal grin on his face.

"I am so gonna enjoy this."

The motorheads then charged at them from both directions. The five siblings dispersed to take them down head on. Donnie used his staff to vault over two of them before they could even land a hit. Once he landed, he spun around, using his staff to sweep the two guys off their feet. A third one pulled out a small staff, preparing to do the same thing to Donnie. The purple turtle was shocked to see the staff extend to be about the same size of his own, but brushed it aside as the Motorhead prepared to attack.

"A fellow bo staff fighter." he mused. "But can you actually use it?"

The motorhead then spun it around for a moment to demonstrate his skill. Growing impatient, Donnie then ran towards the motorhead twirling his own staff along the way. Finally, the two staffs collided, each warrior blocking the others blow.

Mikey, meanwhile had just back flipped out the way of two motorheads of his own.

"You think you guys are so tough." He asked pulling out his signature weapons. "Well wait till you get a load of this."

With that he proceeded to spin his Nunchucks around showing off to his opponents in true Michelangelo style. The two motorheads just standing there, looking at each other with cocked heads. Mikey continued to show his skill to the motorheads by raising one foot off the ground and moving the spinning Nunchucks under it, a smug smile on his face. Unimpressed the motorheads pulled out and threw a barrage of shruiken at the orange clad turtle. Mikey acted on instinct and used his weapons to block every blow that was dealt him. Once the motorheads stopped throwing their projectiles, Mikey held one Nunchucks in his hand while the other was locked under his arm.

"Is that all you got?" he asked in a very confident tone.

Unbeknownst to him, another motorhead snuck from behind him, raising his staff to knock him to the ground. Mikey fell hard, his head pounding as his opponents standing over him.

"Ok, guess not." he observed.

Meanwhile, Leonardo was engaged in an intense sword fight with one motorhead. He was impressed with his adversary's skills, and was relishing in the genuine challenge the battle offered him. His focus was turned away from the battle when he heard his brother cry out.

"Mikey!" he shouted.

The motorhead used this distraction to kick the blue turtle into a wall. Leo regained his focus enough to see the motorhead running toward him. Thinking fast, he flipped onto a nearby awning, thinking he had the higher ground. That brief feeling of security was destroyed when he saw the motorhead jump up and run along the wall towards him. Leo couldn't believe his eyes.

"Who are these guys?" he asked as the motorhead joined him on the roof.

Raphael had his hands full as well, having to deal with four motorheads at once. Dodging and blocking each blow they tried to deal him.

"You guys got moves, I'll admit." he complemented with half sincerity. "You guys know this one?"

With that, he planted his sai in the concrete, using it as an anchor to perform a roundhouse kick. The move was successful, knocking them all out cold.

Hisako was not as fortunate, being backed into a corner with three motorheads closing in on her. Thinking fast, she slid under her enemies' feet with fans extended, slicing their ankles and causing them to fall to the ground. However as she stood up, she realized one had avoided her attack as he grabbed her from behind. Not to be deterred, she was able to get one hand free and put a mind blast on him.

For the motorhead, it was as if his senses were suddenly turned up to maximum. The dim light of the alley was suddenly as bright as the sun. The sounds of the battle made his ears feel like they were about to burst. The stench of sweat and garbage made him want to gag, and he could taste the remnants of all the meals he had eaten in the past few days.

With her assailant mentally occupied, Hisako brought her fan down on the back of his neck, knocking him down. With this small moment of tranquility, Hisako felt a small ping in the corner of her mind, like her powers were picking up stray thoughts. Most were just the usual babble of New Yorkers dreaming, but one string of thoughts piqued her interest. Following the hypothetical string, Hisako found a familiar hulking figure hiding in a large van, accompanied by about two or three Motorheads.

"Hun..." She whispered.

Back with the turtles Mikey was not holding up well as he was shoved into Donatello's back.

"Say Donnie, is it just me or are we getting our shells kicked?" Mikey asked.

Before Donnie could answer, he grabbed his brother's shoulder and pulled them both down, narrowly dodging a barrage of shruiken.

"Ask me again when we're winning." Donnie responded slowly standing up.

At that moment, he noticed he couldn't see Hisako anywhere on the battlefield. A sinking feeling grew in his stomach as he scanned the alley for his sister.

"Hey, where's Hisako?" Donnie asked.

Having heard the question, Leo looked over his shoulder to see Hisako running towards a nearby fire escape.

"What's she doing?" Leo asked before being drawn back into the fight by two more oncoming Motorheads.

Back with Hisako, once she had climbed high enough on the fire escape, she jumped off soaring through the air until she landed on the roof of the truck she saw in her head.

"Time to draw them out."

…..

Inside the van, an entire array of surveillance equipment was hard at work trying to capture images of the turtles and their human associate. So far, Hun had managed to capture satisfactory images of the turtles, which he had already sent to his master. Now, all he needed was an image of the girl. So far, all images of her were either too blurry to make out, or she was partially covered by the turtles or one of his own men.

"Mr. Hun." One of the motorheads at the controls called. "We lost the girl."

"What?" He demanded.

He shoved the motorhead out of the way, scanning the multiple screens. Unfortunately, the girl was gone. That's when he heard a thud coming from the roof. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the sound was.

"It's her." Hun hissed as he gestured to the Motorhead he had shoved out of the way. "Go get her."

The Motorhead opened the van doors. Before he could take a step outside, a slender hand grabbed onto the front of his jacket, yanking him through the doorway. There was the sound of three consecutive blows, then an audible thud of a body falling to the ground. Hun saw that, then pointed at the remaining two motorheads. They went out the door as well, and though they seemed to put up more of a fight, they too fell easily. Hun sighed, then cracked his knuckles.

"If you want something done right..." He growled.

He came out of the van swinging, his massive fist catching Hisako across the jaw. She went flying across the street, hitting the wall of a building hard and slumping to the ground.

"You do it yourself." he finished.

He grabbed Hisako, hoisting her into the air with ease. However, that was as far as he got before an angry shout rang through the street.

"Hey Lou Ferrigno!" a furious voice taunted.

Hun turned to the source of the shout and saw that the alleyway was now devoid of the turtles. In fact, only the unconscious forms of his motorheads was visible. That's when he felt someone poking his head with what seemed to be a stick. He slowly looked up to see the four turtles standing on top of the roof of the van with weapons drawn. The orange one was crouched down, identifying him as the one who had poked him. The rest looked pissed beyond measure.

"Give us back our sister!" the red turtle demanded.

Hun just smirked, figuring he had the turtles dead to rights.

"Touch me, and I snap this girl's neck like a toothpick."

Raph was seething in anger, and had to be held back by Leo to prevent him from doing something monumentally stupid. Hun chuckled, glad that everything was going according to plan, even if there had been a slight wrinkle.

That's when Hun noticed that Donatello had his hands behind his back.

"You! The purple one!"

Donny looked up with a faux innocent look.

"Yes?" he replied, his voice dripping with that same false innocence.

"What are you hiding?" Hun demanded.

"I'm not hiding anything." He said. "But if I were you, I wouldn't stand in the middle of the road like that."

"And why is that?" Hun asked.

All of the turtles crouched on the roof of the van, as if bracing themselves for something.

"Oh you'll see in about 12.4 seconds." Donnie responded in a coy manner.

Hun raised his eyebrows in curiosity. His train of thought was interrupted however when he was a pair of headlights coming up the road, approaching at about 3 times the speed limit. He squinted a bit to see a strange truck charging towards him. It was about the size of an armored car with green shell-like designs all across it, as well as Japanese kanji for turtle and ninja on one side. On the other, in obvious graffiti font, was the word "Shellraiser!"

Before Hun could react, the car hit him dead on, sending him flying across the street. Hisako was launched into the air when the car hit, so Leo leapt into the air and caught her in his arms. The two landed with ease on the now parked car.

"You good?" he asked as Hisako began to come to.

"Yeah." she responded groggily.

"I make a motion we get out of here before that guy calls reinforcements." Donnie suggested getting into the driver's seat.

"Agreed. Let's move." Leo ordered.

The turtles scrambled into the car, Leo buckling Hisako in as Donnie hit the gas. The tires screeched as they made their getaway.

…..

As the Shellraiser pulled into Renaissance motors, the five siblings finally started to relax. Though they'd been battling New York's street trash for four years, tonight's battle had shown them that they weren't top dog on the street's food chain.

"I'm just gonna say it." Raph commented as he jumped out of the Shellraiser. "That could have gone better."

"You said it." Mikey agreed. "My bruises have bruises."

"Who were those guys?" Donny asked.

Hisako, who was still a bit left of center after her face-to-face with Hun, just groaned.

"Whomever they were, they were good..."

"They were like ninjas." Leo clarified.

"Come on, Leo!" Mikey countered. "Ninjas? In New York? That aren't us?"

"How else do you explain the butt kicking we got tonight?" Raph retorted.

The five of them just stood in silence for a moment before Hisako spoke up again.

"Master Splinter isn't gonna like this."

Their collective groans could be heard across the street.

…..

Hun found himself kneeling before his master once more. The man paced around the behemoth, an air of disappointment mixed with unbridled rage surrounding him.

"Perhaps I was too lenient when I gave you 48 hours to complete your mission." The master mused. "It is obvious that you do not have the skills necessary to combat five minor annoyances."

Hun raised his head, praying the footage he had acquired would be enough to keep his head firmly attached to his neck.

"Master, while I have failed to capture the turtles and their… friend… I have succeeded in acquiring usable footage."

The Master ceased pacing, an eyebrow raising in intrigue. Hun reached into his trench coat, pulling out the flash drive. The master snatched the drive, walking over to a thin laptop that rested on his desk. Inserting the drive, he witnessed footage of the four turtles fighting with the Motorhead soldiers. During the viewing, he noticed one detail.

"Why is there no footage of the girl?" the master questioned.

"We were unable to get any." Hun responded. "Every time she came into camera shot, she either had her back to the camera, or was covered by another."

"I see." the master said, the disappointment in his voice causing Hun to tense up, wondering what he was going to do. "This is suitable. It would seem you still have a purpose here."

Hun let out a sigh of relief as the master pulled the drive out of the computer and tossed back at Hun, who barely caught it.

"Take this to Baxter Stockman." The master ordered. "One of his… 'Pets' should succeed where you have failed."

Hun visibly tensed at the idea of willingly visiting Stockman in his lab, but he knew better than to question his master, especially when his position was on such unstable ground as is.

"Yes, Master."

With that, Hun left to see Stockman. Alone, the master pulled up a copy of the footage he had saved to his laptop. The way the Turtles fought his men reminded him of something familiar. Something… from the past.

…..

Hun walked into a large building, entering a secret elevator hidden as part of the wall. The elevator descended until it opened up into a large white hospital like area. All around him, there were men and women dressed in lab coats milling about, but one doctor stood out.

Hun!" Stockman called. "Long time no see! How is my favorite patient?"

Hun's growl was like that of a rabid lion.

"I. Am NOT. Your patient, Stockman." He replied through gritted teeth.

"Not anymore, no." Stockman replied with a shrug "But with all of your screw-ups these past four years, I'm almost positive that will change."

Hun's huge fists clenched in anger, but he resisted the urge to punch the smug doctor. He came here for a reason, and if he failed his Master, then Stockman's prediction would come true. Without another word, Hun held out the flash drive. Stockman raised an eyebrow, taking the flash drive. Commandeering a nearby computer, he took a look at the footage. Once he played the footage, it was obvious that he was intrigued.

"Well, well. Aren't these interesting specimens?"

"These are the creatures I spoke of four years ago."

Stockman stroked his chin, examining the photos.

"Hmm, Terrapin Carolina by the looks of the shell design… mutated box turtles… very interesting. I would very much like to examine them."

"Well, you might just get the chance." Hun stated bluntly. "Master wants you to send one of your pets after them."

Stockman grinned at the thought, hitting the print button and printing an image of the four turtles.

"I think I know just who to send."

He turned and walked down a long white hallway towards a large metal door with several large bolts and chains over it. Two burly guards in SWAT uniforms, armed with tranquilizer guns and stun batons, saluted Stockman as he approached a small opening in the door where someone could peer inside.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey." He called. "You awake in there?"

There was a loud thud as the door shook slightly, accompanied by the rattling of chains. The two SWAT guys jumped back, aiming their weapons at the opening. Stockman just chuckled as he waved the two guys down.

"Congratulations," He called cheerily through the opening. "Today is your lucky day. I have a mission for you."

There was a growl that almost rivaled Huns coming from the other side of the door. Stockman slipped the pictures through the slot, careful to keep his hands clear.

"Find these creatures and bring them back in one piece. Do this, and I'll postpone your tests for a month. How does that sound?"

A large, dark green, clawed hand picked up the pictures as dark red eyes focused on the pictures. Then a guttural voice spoke at a hushed whisper.

"Deal….."


	7. Monster

Down in the NYC sewer tunnels, Hisako sat in the center of a large junction. She had large headphones over her ears with music blaring at a high enough volume that she could not hear anyone's thoughts. She closed her eyes and focused past the music, listening for even the slightest sound. That's when she heard a single splash off to the left. In an instant, she had a shuriken in her hand, which she quickly tossed in the direction of the noise. It landed right at the feet of Michelangelo, who let out a yelp as he jumped to avoid the projectile.

"You're out." Hisako called.

Mikey grumbled and sat down where he stood.

"And I was so close this time." He muttered.

Focusing more, Hisako heard a slight scraping noise, like wood against brick. Another shuriken quickly embedded itself into Donatello's staff.

"Out." She called again

Donny pulled the star out of his staff and sat down. He was slightly closer to Hisako than Mikey, but not by much. Hisako focused again, and this time, heard light footsteps coming up from behind her. She quickly twirled around, a shuriken going right at Raphael's face. He brought up his sai and blocked it, the metal star rebounding off his weapons with a bell-like chime.

"Out."

Raph snarled in disappointment, plopping down on the floor. He was about ten feet away from Hisako, making him the closest to her.

"Now just one more." Hisako whispered.

She focused one more time, but heard nothing. It was almost completely silent. Until…

"Tag." Leonardo called, tapping Hisako on the top of the head with his sword sheath.

Hisako smirked, grabbing the sheath and turning off her music.

"Leo wins…" She announced. "Again."

The turtles all gathered around her as she slipped the headphones out of her ears and pulled out a notepad from her pocket.

"Let's see… That's 47 wins for Leo, 32 for Raph, with Donny following closely behind with 31, and finally, Mikey with 12." She listed.

"Only 12?" Mikey whined.

"You keep making the same mistake with the puddle." Leo commented. "A ninja must be aware of their surroundings."

Mikey grumbled again, but soon, a different grumbling caught everybody's attention. Mikey's stomach. He clutched it and sat down again.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry."

Sure enough, four more stomachs began growling. Hisako chuckled and put the pad away.

"I'll go and get us some lunch." She volunteered. "How does pizza from Mario Brother's Pizzeria sound?"

The turtles began cheering happily.

"Make sure to make it a deep dish pizza!" Mikey shouted.

"With Sausage and Pepperoni!" Raph added.

"Don't forget my black olives." Donny reminded.

"And extra cheese." Leo concluded

Hisako just shook her head smiling.

"I'll take the bike and meet you guys back here with lunch. In the meantime, you guys keep practicing."

The turtles all nodded as Hisako headed off back to the lair.

…

Further down the expansive tunnels of the sewer, a large, brooding figure stalked through the darkness. Large nostrils flared, trying to catch even the smallest scent amongst the odors of the sewers. Dark red eyes pierced through the darkness, scanning the mildew covered walls for signs of life.

"Where are you..." the creature wondered aloud.

In that moment, a brief scent crossed his nose. It was faint, but the smell was distinctive.

"Turtles..."

Not wanting to lose the scent, the monster sank beneath the shallow waters, swimming at an impressive speed towards the origin of the scent.

…..

The doors to Renaissance motors opened as a dark green motorbike sped out onto the street. Hisako gunned it, enjoying the feel of the wind and sun on her skin. It was in moments like these that Hisako sometimes forgot how much of an outsider she was. Being able to go outside, to run, jump, and be herself were luxuries she was still trying to get used to.

Part of her still feared the figures that haunted her nightmares. She was still weary of her dark past, and those who made her childhood a living hell. She knew she would never be free of them, but she refused to let her fear rule her.

It was for this reason that Hisako had become more and more insistent on going to the surface alone. Her brothers couldn't protect her forever, so she needed to learn to stand on her own. It had taken a lot of baby steps, as well as her brothers following her around town (though she pretended she didn't know they were there), but in the end, Hisako had become a confident woman, one who wasn't afraid to walk in the sun.

…..

"Man. Where is Hisako with that pizza?" Mikey groaned.

"Keep your shell on Mikey." Raph said. "She's only been gone five minutes."

Mikey groaned again, slumping against the wall.

"I'm so~o hungry…" he moaned.

Leo shook his head.

"You're always hungry." He replied. "Just try and find something to occupy your mind until the pizza gets here."

Mikey's stomach growled loudly.

"Easier said than done, Leo." Donny replied. "This is Mikey we're talking about."

Another growl echoed through the tunnels, even louder than before.

"Okay, Mikey. We get it. You're hungry." Raph snapped.

Mikey shook his head.

"That wasn't me…"

The four brothers exchanged confused glances, ones that turned serious as they drew their weapons.

"Spread out." Leo ordered. "I don't think we're alone."

The turtles all nodded, then each ran down a separate tunnel. Leo scoured the eastern tunnels, listening for even the slightest sound. However, he heard nothing.

Raphael charged down the tunnels, turning corners rearing for a fight. Like his brother, he too came up empty handed.

Mikey leaned against the wall of a corner and picked up a stone. He tossed it, then waited to hear the clatter. When he heard nothing, he let out a sigh of relief and turned back.

"All clear on my end." Leo said as he returned to the junction.

"Same here." Raph called.

"Zippo." Mikey added.

Donny however called from down the tunnel he had taken.

"Found something!"

The turtles quickly dart down the tunnel, where they found Donny hunched over some mud. They looked at the mud to see a large footprint embedded deeply in the surface. It looked almost human, but it was much larger, and the toes seemed pointed.

"What can you tell us Don?" Leo asked as he sheathed his swords.

Donny examined the print, his mind immediately taking measurements. As he examined it, Raph and Mikey stowed their weapons.

"Judging by the size of the print, and using the foot to body ratio, I'd say this thing is about 7 feet tall."

Raph let out a whistle at that revelation.

"That's one big sucker." Raph muttered.

"The claws on the toes mean that whatever we're dealing with, it's some sort of predator." Donny continued. "And now that I look a bit closer, this thing has webbed toes… and only four of them."

"Four toes?" Mikey asked. "What kind of creature has less than five toes?"

The other three turtles glared at Mikey, who looked up at his brothers with a confused expression.

"What?" he asked.

"Look at your own feet, shell-for-brains." Raph told him.

Mikey looked down and wiggled his solitary two toes.

"Oh…." He muttered, then something dawned on him. "Hey wait a minute! That means that whatever this thing is, it's a mutant like us!"

Donny nodded in agreement.

"That's what I'm guessing."

"First, ninjas in New York that weren't us, now MUTANTS that aren't us?!" Mikey whined. "People keep stealing our shticks!"

Raph whacked Mikey upside the head, then shushed him.

"Quiet down Mikey." He ordered.

"Raph's right." Don agreed. "Whatever this thing is, it's a hunter, it's huge, it's a mutant-" Donny hesitated for a moment, then slowly started reaching for his Bo staff, "… and has incredibly sharp teeth…"

The brothers looked confused.

"How do you know it has sharp teeth?" Leo asked.

"Because it's standing right behind you." Donny replied.

In that instant, the brothers immediately grabbed their weapons and leapt to their feet, turning to face the creature. Sure enough, it stood about 7 feet tall, nearly filling the tunnel. It was dark green, with long claws on its fingers, and piercing red eyes. It had a human-ish face, but had a strange nose that slightly resembled a crocodile's snout. It's teeth were jagged and sharp, and it was bald with long jagged scars covering its face and parts of its arms. It seemed to be wearing a pair of hospital pants with a huge hole in the back for a thick, spiny tail. Around its neck, the creature wore a strange metal collar.

"Leo…" Mikey whispered. "What do we do?"

"I don't know Mikey…" Leo replied. "Maybe it isn't here to fight."

Praying his hypothesis was true, Leo slowly sheathed his swords.

"Who are you?" Leo asked, hoping this creature could understand him.

The creature snarled, then swiped his hand, knocking Leo to the side as if he were nothing. He hit the wall hard and then splashed down into the water.

"LEO!"

The other three turtles gripped their weapons and threw themselves at the creature.

…

Down in Stockman's secret laboratory, he and Hun were standing around a large monitor. On the screen, the two could see the events of the sewers occurring from a first person point of view, specifically, the large monster's point of view.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Stockman asked, his voice betraying the sheer joy he was feeling. "I've been looking for a chance to test my obedience collar. It seems to be working in full form. Though, I was hoping that the master would let me test it on you first."

Hun raised an eyebrow, growling at the doctor. Stockman ignored him, focusing on the on-screen fight.

"Not only does it ensure that my pet will do exactly what I tell it to, but with the built in microphone and camera, I can see and hear everything it does."

"Are you done patting yourself on the back?" Hun grumbled.

Stockman shook his head, patting Hun's arm.

"My apologies." he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But considering my pet is about accomplish what you failed to do in four years, I think I'm entitled to a little 'back patting', don't you?"

Hun growled, but remained silent. As the battle continued, Stockman frowned slightly.

"You know Hun, my boy, I am seeing the four turtles you have mentioned in the past, but the fifth element is absent. Where is she?"

Hun allowed a small smirk to crawl onto his face. Even if Stockman's pet managed to beat the turtles, if the fifth element was not taken down as well, Stockman will have failed after all. Noticing Hun's smug grin, Stockman coughed, regaining himself.

"No matter." He decided. "Eventually, she when she does, she will be mine."

…

_Ding ding_.

Hisako walked into Mario Brother's Pizzeria. The smell of cheese and pepperoni greeted her as she approached the main counter. As she got there, a slender man in a green shirt under a white apron came to greet her. A smile graced his face as he recognized her.

"Ah." he called happily, his arms open as if waiting for a hug. "If it isn't my a-favorite customer."

"Hey Luigi." Hisako replied. "Is Casey working today?"

"E-yes." Luigi replied, his thick Italian accent making Hisako smile. "He's a-in the back a-working with his girlfriend on-a his homework. I'll go-a get 'im."

Hisako grinned, then covered her ears as Luigi opened the door leading to the kitchen.

"Hey-a Jones! Your favorite-a customer is-a here!"

Hisako uncovered her ears as Casey Jones came out of the kitchen.

Casey was a very well built 19 year old. He had very tanned skin, a combination of mixed blood and spending most of his time outside. He was a member of almost every sport's team at Eastman-Laird University, where he was going due to multiple sport scholarships. Despite being a jock, he had a really big heart. He had taken the job at Mario Brother's Pizzeria to help his mom out, and had even begun receiving tutoring in order to keep his grades acceptable.

When Casey laid eyes on Hisako, he grinned widely, revealing a row of white teeth, albeit with a chip here and there.

"Hey Greeny!" he called, jumping over the counter. "How've ya been?"

The two hugged, Casey's muscular frame nearly swallowing Hisako. As he released her, his smile seemed wider.

"You're not as skinny as before." he remarked. "I told ya working out would put some muscle on those bones."

Hisako laughed as Casey went back behind the counter.

"Thanks Casey." She replied. "I've been doing well. What about you?"

"Been good. I was elected MVP on the football team, and my hockey team went to finals again."

"Awesome."

"But you didn't come here for the sports section. You came here for a deep dish pizza with sausage and pepperoni, add black olives and extra cheese."

Hisako chuckled. There wasn't an ounce of mental power in Casey, but he always knew her exact pizza order.

"You know me so well Casey." Hisako commented with a chuckles.

"Hey, the day I get your order wrong, is the day you know something's wrong." Casey replied with a wave.

Casey darted back into the kitchen to get to cooking as Hisako took a seat. After a minute, the kitchen door opened again and April O'Neil walked out.

April was a 20 year old genius who had graduated top of her class, and was currently attending Eastman-Laird University on a science scholarship. She had known Casey since freshman year of high school when he had begun his tutoring search. She had helped him out, and the rest was history.

"Hisako, I thought I heard your voice." April called as she took a seat across from her.

"Hey April." Hisako replied. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." April replied with a shrug. "Casey just needed some help in algebra again."

"That's to be expected." Hisako remarked. "I mean, after all, letters belong in English, not in math."

The two girls shared a chuckled.

"What about you Hisako?" April asked after a moment "How are things going with you and your brothers?"

Hisako thought back to the fight not long ago, and how Hun had punched her lights out, literally.

"It's been alright. One of our night jobs didn't go as well as we had hoped, so we're making sure that doesn't happen again."

"You know, you've never really told me what 'night jobs' you and your brothers do."

Hisako felt a slight wave of panic go through her, but luckily, her brain quickly provided her with a suitable answer.

"We're street cleaners." She supplied. "We clear out the garbage and filth so that the city will be cleaner, and safer."

April whistled.

"Sounds like very hard work."

Hisako nodded in agreement.

"It is, but my family and I can handle it. When push comes to shove, we can stand up for ourselves, no matter what we face."

…..

The four turtles were getting their shells handed to them. Whatever this thing was, it had the strength of five men, and was turning out to be a greater threat than they had imagined.

"Man…" Mikey groaned. "How are we supposed to take this guy down?"

"I don't know…" Donny replied.

"We need to work together." Leo explained. "We need to pin his arms, avoid the teeth, and find a way to knock him out."

Raph came flying through the air, crashing right in front of his brothers. He sat up,

"Leo…. I can't believe I'm saying this, but lead on."

The creature lumbered closer, watching the four with eyes filled with determination. The turtles exchanged nods, then Mikey leapt at the monster.

"Cowabunga!"

The creature charged at them. Mikey leapt at it, trying to grab its arm, but only succeeded in getting caught himself. The creature hugged Mikey close, nearly crushing the orange turtle in its grasp as it roared in his face.

"Okay… two words for you..." Mikey gasped. "Breath… Mint!"

Just then, Raph came out of nowhere, raining one punch after another at the monster's stomach. After a while, the creature had enough and threw Mikey at him. The two turtles were send skidding through the mud, where they collided with a wall. As they tried to get up, they saw the creature looming over them, its fists raised over them. Before it could bring them down, Leo and Donnie came in to distract it.

Leo barreled into its stomach with all the force he could muster as Donnie struck it on the head with his staff. This put the monster off balance long enough for Raph to grab one of its arms. Before the creature could react, Donnie grabbed on to other arm as Mikey wrapped his legs around his neck so he could hold. The creature let out a growl, giving Mikey the chance to gag it with his Nunchucks.

"Leo!" Raph called out. "Whatever you're going to do, do it now!"

Leo ran forward, his blades swinging down in a deadly arc. However, when they came into contact with the creature's skin, the blades barely made a dent. The creature seemed to smile around the chains in its mouth. It let out a few short growls, and it took the turtles a minute to figure out what it was doing.

"Is it- Is it chuckling?" Donny asked.

The creature chuckled louder, then looked Leo straight in the eye.

"That- won't- work-"

The turtles couldn't believe it. The thing spoke. It was intelligent. However, they didn't have long to think on this. The creature stopped moving, as if focusing its energy somewhere else. All of a sudden, there was the sound of creaking metal, accompanied by the short snaps of something being broken. Mikey's grip on his Nunchucks suddenly loosened as he fell backwards. Splashing down in the mud, he looked at his Nunchucks to see the chain links broken, as if they had been bitten through.

"Leo! My Nunchucks!"

The three brothers all looked at Mikey, only to be quickly reminded of the situation as the monster threw them off him with a strong swing of his arms. The brothers all looked up at the creature, all gulping in fear.

"We need to shut him down." Raph said. "Like, now."

"For that, we'd need Hisako." Donny replied.

"Where is she when we need her?" Mikey whined.

…..

Hisako and April were both laughing rather loudly, sitting at one of the booths in the restaurant.

"So wait, he did what?" April asked.

"He stuffed 9 fried dumplings his mouth at once." Hisako replied. "9 dumplings. He wanted to set a world record."

"Is there even a record for that?" April asked.

"In Kung Fu Panda, maybe. But try telling that to Mikey."

The two girls just kept chuckling.

"Sounds like your brothers are quite the handful."

Hisako shrugged.

"Maybe, but I could care less. They're family, I wouldn't trade them for the world."

April looked at Hisako, and could see a spark of sadness in her eyes. April was naturally curious, and had to ask.

"You know, if your brothers are so cool, then why is it always you they send to pick up pizza? Aren't they taking advantage of you?"

Hisako chuckled at the thought. If only April knew the truth.

"Actually, I volunteer to come get it." She replied, deciding against her sarcastic train of thought. "I had a… Rough… Childhood, until they found me. I was afraid of the world, until they showed me the beauty of it."

April looked at Hisako with a note of pity in her eyes. Hisako could hear the many questions running through her head, wanting to come out, but she could also feel April's willingness to allow Hisako to keep her secrets. That made the young psychic smile.

"Pie's done!" Casey called.

Hisako jumped out of the booth, snagging the large pizza box.

"And not a moment too soon. Thanks Case!" she said with a grin. "See you soon."

She spun the pizza in her hand and went to the door. As she left, April looked over at Casey.

"She's… weirder than I imagined."

"Greeny's alright. She cares a lot about her family, and that's what counts."

"Have you ever met her family?"

Casey shrugged.

"No… but from what she's told me, they're a tough bunch."

…

Hisako got back to the garage with some time to spare. After parking the bike and locking the doors, she flipped open a trapdoor leading to a hand-carved tunnel into the lair. Gripping the pizza, Hisako jumped into the hole, enjoying the slide-like ride. She even held up her arm like she was on a roller coaster while the other gripped the pizza.

After about a minute of sliding, it opened out onto a large pile of beanbags that had been set up to catch the travelers of the winding path. Hearing the ever familiar thud accompanying Hisako's childish giggles, Splinter looked up from his meditation with a smile.

"I see you were sent out for lunch again." He commented.

Hisako pulled herself out of the beanbags, approaching the rat.

"Yep. You wanna slice?" she asked, opening the box.

"I shall pass." He told her, gently holding up a paw. "Besides, I am positive that your brothers have been quite busy training while you were gone."

Hisako chuckled as she closed the box.

"Yeah. 'Training'. Odds are they're probably bickering again." She remarked. "I best go find them before they try to kill each other again."

Pizza in hand, Hisako exited the lair, eager to find her brothers.

...

Hisako zigged and zagged through the tunnels, taking multiple turns like a master, and even spinning around corners with a grin on her face. After about seven or eight different turns, she arrived at the junction where they had been training. However, there was no sign of any of the turtles.

"Guys?" She called. "Leo? Raph? Donny? Mikey?"

Nobody answered. Confused, she closed her eyes, hoping to catch a sign of their presence somewhere. However, there wasn't a single ping. No stray thought, no nothing.

"Guys, this isn't funny." she called. "Come out."

Still, there was no answer. Now starting to get worried, she looked around the tunnels at random, calling for her brothers. She called out their names frantically, the fear in her gut growing larger and larger.

Then, just as she was running past a fork, she spotted something that made her blood run cold. Poking out from behind a wall was a green arm wearing a black glove with only two fingers.

"No!" Hisako screamed.

She ran down the fork and around the corner to see all four of her brothers out cold on the ground. Donny was sprawled out in the mud, his staff in three pieces around him. Mikey was right on top of him, his Nunchucks in pieces as well, with broken links of chains on the ground. Leo was on his side in the dirt, his swords resting about a foot away from his hands. Finally, Raph was leaned against the wall, blood running from a gash on his forehead, the only turtle still slightly conscious.

"Raphael!" she screamed.

She dropped the pizza box and ran over to her brother, shaking him desperately. He looked up at his sister, his eyes widening in sheer terror. It was a look that did not belong on the red turtle's face.

"Hisako…" he muttered. "Run…"

…..

The entire time the footage had been playing, Stockman had been taking notes on the four turtles, noting there names, weapons, fighting styles, and even their supposed rank in their little group. He had gotten so much information that he could create a portfolio on each individual turtle if he wished.

"Absolutely astounding." Stockman laughed. "These four, despite similar build and age, all have differences that make them unique. Take the one called Leo for example. He appears to be the leader, and his swordsman skills mark that of a master. However, the one called Raph seems to be a bit rash, with his skills marking someone with a large amount of rage."

"I'm glad that you are enjoying this little show." Hun interrupted, a note of irritation in his tone. "But your notes will do no good once your pet is finished with them."

Stockman sighed in disappointment, looking at the screen just as his pet was throwing the turtle called Raph into the wall. He slumped down and seemed to be barely conscious. The creature took a few steps forward, then a scream came from off screen.

"What was that?" Stockman asked, returning his focus to the screen.

At that moment, a girl ran on screen, grabbing the red turtle. Both Stockman and Hun both froze in place.

"Hisako…" the red turtle muttered. "Run…"

Hisako… That word. The turtles had repeated it on multiple occasions. So far, Stockman had found nothing to connect the word to, but now he realized it wasn't a word.

It was a name.

"So, the fifth element now has a name. Hisako…"

Stockman quickly wrote that down, then turned back to the screen. The girl was looking down at the turtle, and then she turned to face the camera. As her face came into view, Stockman felt his whole world spin.

"No…" He gasped. "It can't be."

Stockman took off out of the room, leaving Hun to watch the monitors.

…

Hisako stood up, facing the shadows where she sensed a strange presence looming. She stared deep into the darkness, slipping her fans out of their sheaths and into her hands.

"I know you're there." She called. "I can feel you! You're gonna pay for what you did to my brothers!"

Whatever it was that was hiding in the shadows, it began to slowly move forward. As it stepped into the light, Hisako dropped her tessen in complete and utter shock. The creature met her eyes with equal surprise.

"No… It can't be…" Hisako whispered, her face as pale as a ghost.

The creature continued to step forward, and yet, Hisako was not afraid. Instead, she also stepped forward. Raph watched this and went to stop his sister. However, his vision was so blurry, he could barely make anything out. Hisako approached the creature, which was frozen in place, as if afraid to scare her off. As she got close enough, it spoke to her.

"Oracle…" It whispered. "Help me..."

She stood in front of it, and slowly lifted her hands up to touch the sides of its face. There was a buzz of energy, and its eyes slowly closed as it sunk to the ground. She went down with it, gently laying it in the dirt. She caressed the side of its face, until she came face to face with the metal collar around its neck.

Hisako's face was devoid of all emotion as she picked up her fans once more. When she returned to the monster's side, she brought them up and quickly began bringing them down hard on the collar. She did this over and over again, her movements becoming more and more frantic with each blow. Sparks began to fly from the metal with each hit until it snapped and came apart. The second the collar was no longer attached to the creature's neck, Hisako pulled it off and began stomping on it over and over again, until there was no possible way it was still working. By the time she was done, she was panting heavily, gripping her fans so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Hisako…" Raph groaned weakly, trying to get his sister's attention

Hisako jumped, then turned to him. Stowing her weapons once more, she ran back to his side and cradled him.

"Shh…. It's alright…" she told him. "I'm here."

"That thing…" He grunted, obviously in a lot of pain "It tried to…. Kill us… finish… it off."

Hisako shook her head.

"No Raph. I won't"

"Why…?"

Hisako looked over at the creature as a flickering memory drifted through her head.

"Because I owe him my life."


	8. Revelations

Leonardo slowly woke up, his entire body throbbing painfully. As he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find himself laying down on the ground in the living area of the lair. There were clean bandages around his various wounds, and an ice-pack resting on his forehead. As he laid there, his thoughts drifted back to the battle, and a gut wrenching fear suddenly coursed through his veins. He sat up violently, then immediately regretted it as his ribs screamed at him.

"Oww..." He moaned.

Hisako, who was currently bent over Raphael, turned towards Leo. Her face did not even attempt to hide the relief she felt upon seeing her brother awake.

"Leo..." She sighed, walking over to him and picking up the fallen ice pack. "Thank God you're okay."

"What happened?" he asked as Hisako eased him back onto the ground. "How did we get here?"

"I came and got Splinter." Hisako explained. "We dragged you all back here."

Leo turned his head slowly, happily noting Mikey and Donny in their own make-shift futons. They were all banged up and slowly coming to, but they were alive. Leo sighed, turning his head away. That's when he noticed a fourth unconscious form. Blinking in confusion, Leo tried to focus on the form, then his eyes went wide.

It was the creature from the tunnels, the very creature that had nearly killed him and his brothers. Suddenly wide awake, Leo struggled to his feet, instinctively grabbing his katanas. Hisako's eyes widened as she tried to get between her brother and the creature.

"What is THAT doing here?!" he demanded, marching towards it.

Hisako got in front of him, successfully keeping him away from the creature.

"Leo, please!" She insisted. "It's not what you think!"

Leo glared at the creature, pointing at it with his katana.

"That thing tried to kill us!" Leo shouted angrily, surprising his sister, and himself. "Why did you bring it here!?"

That is when Splinter emerged from the kitchen, a small pot full of water and a washcloth draped over his arm.

"I asked her the same question when she insisted upon bringing him along." He told Leo. "Hisako, explain what is going on to your brothers."

Hisako looked at Leo, who was eying the creature with disdain and hatred. She didn't need to read his mind to know that he didn't trust the creature one bit.

"Leo… That creature. He's my friend."

Leo was understandably shocked. His jaw dropped as his katanas clattered to the ground.

"That… thing… is your friend?" He stuttered.

Hisako nodded, gently nudging Leo's katanas away from him with her foot.

"More than that," she continued. "He's the one who saved me four years ago. If it wasn't for him, I would still be trapped in That Place."

Now Leo was completely confused. Not only did Hisako know this thing, but it had somehow saved her? What the shell was going on?

Hisako could hear the bombardment of questions, all of which she knew she would have to answer. However, right now was not the time, nor the place.

"Look Leo," Hisako told him, trying to get him back onto his futon. "I understand that you're angry about what happened, but I promise you, he's not a threat."

Donny slowly sat up, rubbing his head.

"I have a bump on my head the size of a grapefruit that proves otherwise." He mumbled. "He may not be a threat to you, but he sure as shell is one to us."

"It destroyed our weapons…" Mikey moaned, holding the broken bits of his Nunchucks. "It nearly killed us."

"He probably had no choice." Hisako pleaded. "Please, just give him a chance to explain."

Splinter saw a spark of desperation in Hisako's eyes. This creature, whatever it was, meant a great deal to her, and she would not give up until they were willing to at least hear his side of the story.

However, it was also clear that the turtles were not going to back down. They were too protective of their family to let a potential threat come close to killing them again. Knowing that his children would not be able to settle this on their own, Splinter decided to step in.

"Perhaps, a compromise can be reached." Splinter suggested.

The five siblings all looked at their sensei as he walked into the small alcove they used as a storage closet. From a large crate with a faded logo for Mirage Co, Splinter pulled out several lengths of thick chains. Hisako's eyes widened at the sight, and when Splinter grabbed a box labeled 'padlocks', she lost it.

"Master Splinter, please!" She exclaimed. "You can't!"

"You insist that this creature means no harm," Splinter told her, "but the wounds on my sons prove that he is a dangerous opponent. If he is bound, then we have nothing to fear from him, and we can get his side of the story."

"If he wakes up bound, he'll go on another rampage!"

"Then what would you suggest?" He asked.

Hisako hesitated, unable to come up with a suitable answer. After all, it had been four years since she had last seen her friend. She didn't know how far gone he was, or what we would do upon waking up. Looking at the wounds on her brothers, she knew she couldn't take the chance. With a reluctant sigh, she stepped aside.

"Alright…" she relented. "But let me be the first thing he sees when he wakes up. It might calm him a bit."

Splinter nodded, then got to work.

…..

When the creature finally regained consciousness, all of the turtles tensed up. They all sat in a semi-circle around it, weapons in their lap for if and when the creature tried to attack. Hisako sat in the middle, watching the creature in a mixture of pity and worry.

As the creature opened his eyes, he went to stand up, only to find his movements abruptly stopped by several chains bisecting his chest. These improvised bindings pinned him to one of the support pillars of the turtle's home. His eyes became bright red as he began to thrash against the chains, growling and snarling loudly with each failed attempt at freedom.

All four of the turtles jumped to their feet, their weapons drawn in order to combat the creature. Hisako on the other hand, quickly got in between her brothers and the creature.

"Stop you guys!" she shouted. "You're not helping!"

She then turned her attention back to the creature, which was currently trying to pull his arms free of the makeshift cuffs keeping his arms from fully stretching out. Hisako got in close, grabbing onto the creature's face and making it face her.

"Leatherhead!" she called over his furious protests. "Leatherhead, it's me!"

The creature grabbed Hisako's arms, sharp nails digging into her skin. At the sight of blood, Leo and Raph prepared to get their sister out of the creature's grasp, but Splinter stopped them both.

"Wait." he told them. "Look."

Hisako still had the creature by the head, gently trying to calm it down. Though at first, it didn't look like it was working, the angry snarls were slowly subsiding. The fiery glow of the thing's eyes was fading away and its grip on Hisako's arms was slowly loosening. As its vision slowly cleared, Hisako released its head, stepping back so it could see her more clearly.

"Hey there big guy." She said with a smile. "Welcome back."

The creature looked at Hisako with an expression of utter shock. Tears came to his eyes as he caressed her face.

"Oracle?" he asked, his voice choked with emotion. "Is it really you?"

"It's me Leatherhead." Hisako replied, her voice equally emotional. "I'm here."

Tears falling down his face, the creature, apparently named Leatherhead, grabbed Hisako and pulled her close, hugging her as best he could bound as he was. Hisako gave just as much, holding him close as nuzzled the side of her face.

"I thought I would never see you again." He told her, unwilling to let go of her.

"Me neither." she replied. "I'm so glad you're alive."

The turtles watched the scene in utter confusion, even Splinter was quite surprised. The deadly creature, which had tried to kill them not a few hours ago, was now snuggling against their sister like a cat. They all just stood there, looking at each other in complete loss.

"Alright, I'll bite." Donny finally said. "What's going on here?"

Leatherhead's eyes flew open, locking onto the turtles. The glow returned as a snarl escaped his lips. He pulled Hisako closer, covering her as best he could, as if trying to protect her.

"Do whatever you want with me." He snarled. "But if you lay a finger on Oracle, I will destroy you all."

The turtles were dumbstruck, but luckily, Splinter wasn't.

"We do not mean you, nor Hisako any harm." He told him gently.

Hisako managed to free herself from Leatherhead's grasp, walking over to her family. Immediately, Splinter got out the medical kit, cleaning the wounds on her arms.

"Leatherhead, this is my family." she explained. "They're not your enemies."

The glow faded again as Leatherhead contemplated Hisako's words.

"Family..." he repeated.

"Yes." she nodded. "They took me in. They took care of me. They kept me safe."

Leatherhead looked at Hisako, then over at the turtles. By now, the four of them had put aside their weapons. When he saw the state they were in, as well as the marks he had left on Hisako's arms, he looked down in shame.

"Why do I do this?" He wondered aloud. "Why do I always destroy everything that is dear to me? Why am I like this?"

Splinter barely managed to tie off her bandages before Hisako broke off, comforting her friend.

"Don't say that." She told him. "None of this is because of you. None of this is your fault."

That's when Leo let out a small cough. Both Leatherhead and Hisako looked up to see the blue turtle waving her over. She reluctantly left Leatherhead's side, approaching her brothers.

"Alright," He whispered "I will be the first to admit; 'Leatherhead' isn't the cruel monster I thought he was."

"That doesn't change the fact that he nearly killed all four of us." Raph reminded him.

"He probably has a perfectly logical explanation for why he attacked us." Donny countered.

"Donny's right." Hisako insisted. "Just hear him out. Let him tell you his side of the story."

"Awesome." Mikey grinned. "Storytime."

"Don't make me hit you again." Raph threatened.

The five turned back to Leatherhead, who sat patiently waiting for them. The turtles sat in that same semi-circle as before, but this time, Splinter joined them.

"Alright Leatherhead," Leo told him. "It's obvious there's more to this story than meets the eye."

"So why don't you tell us what happened." Donny suggested.

"And why you tried to turn us into turtle soup." Raph finished.

Leatherhead nodded.

"The man who created me, who turned me into the monster I am today, sent me after you. He promised me a reprieve from the tortures and tests that have ruled my existence for so long. It was an offer I could not refuse."

Hisako went pale, her usually stone-grey eyes flashing green.

"Wait… He… sent you?"

Leatherhead nodded slowly. Hisako's breathe hitch as she held herself, fear written all over her face. As she shook in terror, flashed of her Red images flickered through everyone's mind. Everyone felt them, even Leatherhead. Splinter instinctively wrapped an arm around Hisako, pulling her closer as the turtles gathered around.

"Hisako." Splinter whispered. "Have peace. We are here. You are not alone."

In the warm embrace of her family, Hisako managed to slowly calm down. While she was still visibly shaken by the thoughts of her past, she seemed a bit more at ease.

"Holy shell." Raph muttered. "Whomever this 'he' is, he must one messed up evil S.O.B."

Leatherhead snorted, the red glow returning to his eyes.

"Evil…" He sneered, practically spitting the word. "That word does not even begin to describe that man. He sees the subjugation of other as enjoyment. He takes pleasure in the pain and suffering of others. The entire world is nothing to him but a playground, and the people upon it, his toys."

Splinter thought back to the shape Hisako had been in when she had first arrived. The multiple scars that still made up her body only proved the validity of Leatherhead's words. If this man was now hunting his sons, then they must be prepared.

"Leatherhead." he said softly. "Hisako has said very little about her time before we found her, and we have respected her desire to forget that part of her life. However, I fear that is a luxury we can no longer afford. We must know all we can about the place where you two escaped from."

Hisako's head shot up, the terror returning to her face.

"Master Splinter, no!" She gasped. "Please, you can't!"

"Hisako," Leo told her. "We know you're trying to protect us, but we need to know."

"Besides," Donny added "we've already got a fair idea of what we're up against after sharing four years' worth of nightmares with you."

Hisako still wasn't convinced, but that was when Leatherhead spoke up again.

"Oracle." He insisted. "The blue and purple ones are right. If they are to be prepared for what is to come, than they must know what it is they will soon face."

Hisako was hesitant. She had hoped to spare her brothers the knowledge of that place. It was bad enough that they involuntarily shared her nightmares, but to hear about what happened in That Place… it was almost too much. However, Leatherhead was right. Her brothers were strong, but they would need to know what they were up against if they had any chance to continue with their normal lives.

"Alright…" she sighed. "Tell them."

Leatherhead gave a single nod, then began his tale.

…

_Leatherhead's first memory of That Place is one of pain. Every fiber of his being felt as if it was on fire. It went on for what felt like hours before subsiding. Even before it faded, he knew something was different about him. He felt bigger, stronger, and smarter. At first, he was happy to discover what new changes awaited him, but after he opened his eyes, he realized the terrible truth._

_The newly transformed crocodile was in a cage, much too small for his newly enlarged form, surrounded by men and women in white lab coats. Many of these strangers held pens and paper, recording even the slightest movement he made. Others were congratulating themselves on 'another successful transmutation.' Others were chuckling to themselves, looking at Leatherhead like a predator does injured prey. _

_However, one doctor stood out among them. He approached the bars of the cage without fear, an almost maniacal gleam in his eye. When he spoke, his voice was laced with pride, and something that can only be described as vindictive or cruel._

_"My name is Doctor Baxter Stockman," he said in a smug and twisted tone. "I am the one who gave you new life." _

_Leatherhead looked at Stockman, every instinct in his new body telling him that this man was evil in every sense of the word._

_"Now that we're acquainted with one another, I want you to understand something." He leaned in close until Leatherhead could smell what the man had for lunch on his breath. "You. Belong. To me. So I suggest you make yourself at home, if you want to stay alive." _

_Leatherhead snarled at him, attempting to swipe through the bars. Stockman just backed away, then nodded towards a pair of men in thick body armor. One of them produced a cattle prod, nearly electrocuting Leatherhead. His screams of pain seemed to amuse Dr. Stockman, as well as the other doctors. Once he stopped convulsing, Stockman chuckled. _

_"That was only a taste of what is to come should you continue to resist me." Stockman promised. "If you wish to avoid further punishment, you will accept your fate."_

_The doctors and armored men then left him alone, giving him one last poke with the cattle prod before leaving him in the dark. Panting heavily from the pain, Leatherhead knew that he would have to escape from That Place, but it would take time. He would need to wait for them to let their guard down if he was to escape with his life._

_..._

_After months of torture and humiliation, Leatherhead's patience grew thin as his lust for freedom became exponential. He was forced to allow the doctors to conduct experiments on him. Some were mundane, like basic exercise. Others were more painful, like seeing how much pain he could withstand or how much punishment his armor-like skin could take. He lost count of how many times he nearly died in that lab. There were times where he hoped that they would go too far and end his suffering. However, Stockman was much too careful with him to allow him to die._

_On the 'anniversary' of his creation, Leatherhead finally snapped. His bottled up hatred and swallowed pride came back to him in spades. He broke free of his restraints, tearing through the bars of his cage as if they were plastic. Stockman did not know this, but he had been holding himself back during the physical examinations. He had only revealed a fraction of his strength. Now, he intended to show him everything he had when he tore the man limb from limb._

_He broke through the door of the lab they had kept him in, only to find himself staring at a hallway of labs similar to his own. Quite a few held the bodies of failed experiments. Others seemed to have been converted into some semblance of living quarters. Then there were cells that seemed to be welded shut, with withered creatures attached to machines that seemed to extract all that made them unique._

_Leatherheads anger flared at these sites. These creatures had been like him, transformed into monsters against their will and forced to endure the same tortures he had._

_His vision clouded as he tore through these different cells. On some impulsive and destructive instinct, he charged towards the cells, tearing the doors open as if they were nothing, and destroying the failed experiments inside. One by one the creatures were dismembered and torn apart until they didn't even resemble their original form. No more would innocent lives be subject to Stockman and his delusional science experiments. _

_The more Leatherhead brought Stockman's work to ruin however, the more the feral beast that had been dwelling inside him all this time took over his mind. That anger all but dissipated when he came to one more cell. _

_This cell did not hold some monstrous creature, nor did it contain a desecrated mutated corpse. Instead, there was a small child inside. A girl, no older than 12, strapped to a wheelchair. She was so frail, her limbs her like brittle twigs. Her hair had been cut away and electrodes were attached all across her head. Monitors along the wall recorded every heartbeat and brain wave coming from this poor child._

_Leatherhead entered her cell, determined to end her suffering. As he pulled the doors to the lab open, the girl looked up at him. Her grey eyes seemed to pierce his soul, and as he got closer, he felt something slip through the cloud of anger. A child's voice, telling him everything was going to be alright._

_He didn't know how, but he instinctively knew it was her. She was communicating telepathically._

_She wasn't scared of him, even though she probably knew why he was there. In fact, she seemed almost apathetic, unable to feel anything. It was this lack of emotion that stayed Leatherhead's hand._

_In the end, he could not go through with it. He couldn't kill this girl._

_At that moment, an image entered his mind. It was that of a guard coming up behind him with a gun. Leatherhead instinctively spun around, his tail knocking the guard off his feet, and his claws making short work of him._

_He turned back to the girl, and still, she did not seem afraid of him. Despite the fact that he had just murdered someone in front of her, she continued to remain unaffected. She simply spoke to him mentally, telling me to run, to get as far away from That Place as possible. So he did just that, but not before tearing through her restraints and taking her with him._

…

All four of the turtles were listening intently to Leatherhead's story. Mikey had nearly begun crying with Donny comforting him. Raph and Leo were both just sitting their dumbstruck. Hisako was understandably upset, clutching onto Splinter desperately. Splinter held his daughter close, even his tail wrapping around her protectively.

"I ran with her for days on end." Leatherhead continued. "I hid in alleys, squatted in dumpsters, and even down here in sewers. I knew nothing but running, trying to remain ahead of our pursuers. Through our travels, Oracle and I became close. She became my reason to run, to fight, and to live."

Donny then raised a hand. Leatherhead cocked his head at Donny in confusion, a gesture Donny took as permission to speak.

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you get the name Leatherhead?" he asked.

"That was the name of the project that produced me." Leatherhead replied. "It is the only name I know, just like Oracle was the only name she knew… at least until you found her."

That's when Raph spoke up.

"You know, that's what's been bugging me."

He stood up, looking at Leatherhead with a spark of his trademark anger.

"You claim that Hisako was so important to you, that she was your entire world and all that. So why is it that we find her bleeding to death in a dumpster all by herself?"

"Raphael!" Hisako hissed glaring at her brother in anger.

"It's true." Raph retorted.

Leatherhead looked down, the shame returning to his face.

"I had no choice." he muttered. "She couldn't be safe as long as she was with me."

"Because of the men chasing you?" Leo asked.

Leatherhead shook his head.

"Not just because of them…" He seemed to hesitate for a minute, then he sagged in his chains. "But because of me as well."

Hisako winced at Leatherhead's words, rubbing the bandages on her arms. Splinter looked at Hisako, remembering the bleeding gashes she had when she first came.

"This was not the first time you have hurt Hisako, was it?" he asked.

Leatherhead shook his head solemnly.

"No..."

Hisako stood up, tears in her eyes.

"That wasn't you, Leatherhead." She told him. "I didn't blame you then, and I don't blame you now. I know you didn't mean to do any of it."

"Do any of what?" Leo asked.

Hisako turned on him.

"It wasn't his-"

"Oracle." Leatherhead interrupted. "It is alright. They deserve to know."

Hisako's word caught in her throat, but she reluctantly sat back down. Leatherhead met everyone's gaze as he began his story again.

…

_Leatherhead peered through the lid of the trash can he was using as cover, searching for his pursuers. For now, it seemed as though he had lost them. With a sigh of relief, he pulled himself out of the trash can, then gently removed Oracle from it as well._

_"We are safe for now, Oracle." he told his young companion._

_Oracle weakly wrapped her arms around Leatherhead's neck, shivering from a combination of cold and fear._

_"But for how long this time?" she asked, her weak voice barely loud enough for Leatherhead to hear. "They always find us. Always."_

_Leatherhead cradled his friend, trying to help her preserve warmth. As he held her, he felt her tears begin to run down her face._

_"Why won't they leave us alone?" she sobbed._

_Leatherhead honestly could not answer her question. He held her for a moment, then caught the scent of their pursuers. They were returning._

_"I heard something over here!" a voice called._

_"Check it out!" another ordered._

_Leatherhead snarled, his eyes glowing red as Oracle tensed in his grip._

_"We need to go." She whispered._

_"No." Leatherhead replied._

_Before Oracle could question why, He placed her back in the dumpster, closing the lid._

_"I will not run." he snarled. "Not anymore."_

_With one massive roar, Leatherhead charged towards the squad of men that were coming around the corner. He jumped on top of one, about to bite into him when the other three started opening fire on him. Enraged, Leatherhead swiped his tail at one, knocking him off his feet and to the ground. Before he could get up Leatherhead brought his tail down on him, crushing him into the pavement. He then threw his fist at another squad member, sending him hurtling into a wall. His head rebounded off the bricks with a painful thud, and he slid to the ground unconscious. _

_The third one Leatherhead grabbed using his mouth. After swinging him around for a bit, the unfortunate soldier screaming all the way, Leatherhead threw him aside like a piece of garbage where he bled out on the ground. _

_Thinking all his enemies were defeated, Leatherhead stopped for a moment to catch his breathe. Unbeknownst to him, the first man he tackled earlier got out a taser stick and struck Leatherhead with it. The shock made Leatherhead scream in pain as he swatted away the weapon. Slowly, Leatherhead approached the man who was slowly backing away, realizing just how poor of a choice he just made._

_"P-please..." He begged. "I have a family… I beg you..."_

_"I begged too… You didn't care."_

_He lunged at the man, his terrified screams being cut short._

_Throughout the fight, Oracle had been desperately trying to lift the lid of the trashcan. Unfortunately, she had no strength to call her own. Luckily for her, one of the men Leatherhead had tossed aside had knocked over the can, sending the unfortunate girl sliding out onto the alley. As she watched Leatherhead decimate the final man, she could feel her friend slowly slipping away, replaced with a monster made of pure rage._

_"Leatherhead!" She cried, her voice cracking from her weakness._

_Leatherhead turned to her, the red in his eyes not seeing his friend, but another enemy he had missed. Roaring again, he ran towards her on all fours and slashes at her with his claws. She lets out a scream of pain as she makes contact with the alley floor. Her blood mixes with the rain that began to fall. Luckily for her, it was these precious water droplets that pulled Leatherhead from his anger induced haze._

_As his senses slowly returned to him, Leatherhead was horrified by what he had done. Oracle was covered in long gashes, blood covering her slim frame as laid curled in a protective ball on the ground. He stumbled back, looking down at his claws in horror._

_"What have I done…?"_

…

"In that moment, I knew that Oracle would never truly be safe with me." Leatherhead explained. "I did the only thing I could to ensure she would have a chance to survive. I ran, drawing away the soldiers by revealing my presence. Then, I let them take me. With all the blood that covered me, I was able to convince Stockman that I have killed Oracle."

He looked down for a moment.

"It was an easy lie, considering that is what I thought as well."

Everybody was shocked. While there was no denying Leatherhead's monster-like nature, it had become quite clear that he honestly regretted his actions while fueled by rage. Even Leo, who was hard set on his beliefs that Leatherhead was a horrible monster, had to cut the crocodile some slack. Hisako, of course, was in utter stupefaction at Leatherhead's revelation.

"You allowed yourself to be recaptured." She muttered. "You let them take you… so I would be safe…"

Leatherhead nodded.

"A monster like me deserves to be locked away."

He looked down at the chains binding him and snorted.

"Even now, I have traded one prison for another."

Hisako looked at her brothers with a pleading expression. Even without her powers, they knew what she was asking. None of them hesitated. The way they saw it, Leatherhead had been through enough already. Leo walked behind the pillar as Master Splinter tossed him the keys to the padlocks. In less than a minute, the chains fell away and Leatherhead was free. He looked down at his free hands in surprise.

"Why did you-"

"Look, the way we see it, you've been through some serious shell." Raph explained. "You attacked us, sure, but you were doing it to survive. Plus, anybody who is willing to lay down their life for our sister is good in my book."

The other three turtles nodded and Splinter smiled. Leatherhead looked over at Hisako, who was smiling at him brightly. He had never seen her so happy.

"Thank you." He said with a smile of his own. It looked a bit weird with his razor sharp teeth, but the turtles got the true intent.

Hisako jumped up and hugged her old friend, her arms wrapped around his neck. He caught her and held her, and for a moment, they forgot about their past, the ever dangerous future, and the enemy currently hunting them all.

…

In Baxter Stockman's Lab, Hun stared at the screens that had been broadcasting the footage of the fight between Stockman's pet and the turtles. The screens were now black with the words NO SIGNAL flashing in red. Stockman had disappeared a while back, searching through the old archives. When he returned, he had a thick file in his hands.

"I didn't think it was possible... but if what I saw was right…"

Hun went to tell him about the end of the fight, but Stockman merely brushed him to the side, bringing up the recorded footage. He brought it up to where the girl appeared, then paused when it showed her face. He zoomed in, and he gasped.

"I knew it…"

He flipped open the file, sifting through the different papers until he came across what he wanted.

A photograph.

He held it up to the screen, comparing the faces. She was older and had filled out some, not to mention grew out her hair, but there was no denying it.

"Hun, my boy, today is a good day!"

Hun stared at the doctor, thinking he had gone insane.

"Perhaps I should tell you that your pet failed to destroy the turtles."

"To hell with that overgrown lummox and those shelled freaks." Stockman exclaimed. "What we have here is far more important."

He looked up at the screen and grinned evilly.

"Project Oracle is still alive."


	9. Downhill from Here

The master sat at his desk, sipping at a cup of green tea. As he sat, a polite knock came to the door. Slightly irritated about his tea time being interrupted, he set the cup down and pressed a small red button. There was a buzz, and the door opened.

In walked Stockman, in unusually high spirits. In fact, one might go as far as saying he was almost giddy.

"This better be important, Stockman." The Master warned.

Stockman came forward, giving a proper bow.

"Oh it is, Master." he replied. "I have some very excellent news. I was able to discover the identity of the fifth element accompanying your annoying pests."

The master raised an eyebrow as Stockman handed him a large folder. He looked at the file, his eyebrow raising.

"This is the Project Oracle file." he remarked.

Stockman nodded.

"That it is. It would seem that the reports of her demise were greatly exaggerated."

The master set the file down, looking at Stockman with a rising anger.

"So what you are telling me is that not only were your reports of her termination inaccurate, but she had been working with our enemies, dismantling my entire empire, and ruining everything I have built for myself?!"

Stockman gulped, having never really been on the receiving end of his master's bad side. Still, he knew he could talk his way out of this bad situation. He always did.

"I wouldn't go that far, Master." he explained. "While the damage caused by the turtles and Oracle is rather substantial, I do believe I may have a way to recover from this. More than that, I think I have enough information on the turtles and Oracle to concoct a suitable plan to acquire them."

The master, while still angry, decided to hear Stockman out. He was then handed a large file with the words _Terrapin Praelia_ emblazoned upon it. Leafing through the several pages of notes, he had to admit, he was impressed by the level of detail on each of the individual turtles. With this amount of data, he could easily train his men in suitable countermeasures.

"You have redeemed yourself, Stockman." he told the doctor. "But there is still the matter of Oracle being loose."

Stockman adjusted his glasses.

"Oh that is a simple problem." he replied. "In fact, considering I'm feeling generous, I'm going to help Hun get back in your favor. He'll bring you Oracle within the day."

…

Hun was none too pleased when Stockman came waltzing into his headquarters like he owned the place.

"Hun, my boy!" he called. "You and I have some business to discuss."

Hun snarled. The last thing he wanted was to deal with Stockman twice in one day. Unfortunately, he also knew he had little choice in the matter.

"What do you want?" Hun demanded, not even bothering to look the doctor in the eye

"It's not what I want." Stockman chuckled. "It's what you need."

Now Hun turned around. The doctor grinned, knowing he had the behemoth's full and undivided attention.

"It's no secret that even though you managed to get that footage of the five pests, you're still on the Master's naughty side." he taunted. "But I think I know just how to get you back on his nice list."

"And how is that?" Hun growled.

Stockman put his arm around the giant, walking him towards a nearby laptop.

"I know how you can capture Project Oracle, and then, her so-called 'brothers', those mutate turtles."

Hun snorted.

"I have tried for four years to capture them. What makes you think your plan will do any better?"

Stockman produced a flash drive, inserting it into the laptop.

"Tell me Hun. What are the three things every living creature needs to survive?"

"Food, water, and air."

Stockman smiled, patting Hun on the head.

"Good job." he congratulated in a condescending tone. "That was correct."

He began typing away on the laptop as he continued talking.

"These turtles are the same. They require food and fresh water. So this begs the question; where do they get their food?"

Hun raised an eyebrow. Stockman sighed.

"Honestly, is there a single working brain cell in the cavernous space you call a brain?" he asked. "Project Oracle is the only human in their little group. It stands to reason that she is the one that is sent to gather supplies. Even if they are hiding now, eventually, they will run out of supplies, necessitating Oracle to reveal herself."

Hun just chuckled.

"What are you suggesting?" he asked. "That I have my men stake out every grocery store? Every convenience shop? Or maybe you just want me to spread my men out, watching every fast food joint in this city!"

Stockman let Hun rant, then triumphantly hit the enter button. A photo came onto the screen, a frozen image from the footage downloaded from the fight. With a grin, Stockman zoomed in on a corner, focusing on a strange white box. After a quick enhance and brightening the picture, Hun was surprised to see it was a pizza box.

"Not every fast food joint." Stockman told him. "But perhaps you should stake out Mario Brothers Pizzeria off 19th avenue and 84th street."

As Hun stared at the picture, Stockman walked out.

"Happy hunting!"

…

It was a surprisingly slow day at Mario Brothers Pizzeria, so slow that the only real work Casey's boss had him doing was sweeping the floor. To say he was bored was an understatement.

"Why did I have to agree to work a double shift on a Tuesday?" He groaned. "Nobody ever comes in on Tuesday."

As if to prove him wrong, the bell of the front door went off. Casey couldn't help sigh in relief, grateful for any type of distraction. He leaned the broom against the wall as turned towards the door.

"Welcome to Mario Bro-"

His voice trailed away as he saw who it was. It was a group of about three men, all of them big and brutish looking, dressed in navy blue police uniforms. Casey looked at these guys, then cleared his throat.

"Can I help you officers?" he asked.

One of the officers looked Casey up and down, as if sizing him up. He then looked around the shop.

"Where's your boss, kid?" he asked.

Casey bristled at the kid comment, but bit his tongue and walked towards the kitchen.

"Luigi!" he called. "I need you out here!"

Luigi came out, and was surprised by the three cops in his shop.

"Is there-a problem officers?" he asked.

The two other cops came forward, one of them producing a photograph. He handed it to Luigi, who took it surprised.

"This is a recent photo of a notorious criminal known as Oracle."

Casey was skeptical.

"Like the girl from Batman?" he asked.

The three cops all glared at him.

"This is serious, kid." The third one told him. "Oracle is incredibly dangerous. She's wanted for multiple accounts of assault and battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and vandalism."

Casey blinked. Whomever this Oracle girl was, she was obviously a volatile character. That was when Luigi handed him the photograph. When Casey saw it, his eyes went wide.

"This-This is Hisako!" he shouted. "This is my friend."

One of the cops sighed.

"We were afraid of this." He said. "You see, Oracle is known for using aliases and befriending those who she comes in contact with to keep them from discovering her true identity and intentions."

Casey looked at the photo, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"No." he said after a moment, "It can't be true. She would never lie to me."

The second cop approached Casey, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Son, tell me something. Whenever she comes to this establishment, do you ever see her with anyone else?"

Casey stumbled for a bit before reluctantly shaking his head.

"No..."

"And how about when she gets that deep dish pizza. Does she ever use a credit card? Show any form of ID?"

Once again, Casey could only shake her head.

"She's been fooling you, son." The third one told him. "I'm sorry."

Luigi stepped in between Casey and the cops.

"What-a can we to-a help?" he asked.

The cops all smiled, as if happy that the two of them were willing to cooperate.

"Just go about your normal routine, sir." they said. "We'll be staking out your shop, waiting for her to come."

"If you don't interfere, then we won't have any trouble."

With that, the cops prepared to leave. As they approached the door, a thought struck Casey. These guys had mentioned that Hisako came to get a deep dish pizza, but how could they know that? It was true that Hisako always paid in cash, but that meant there was no way to track the order.

Something wasn't right.

"Hey Officers!" he called.

They all turned as Casey came forward.

"Quick question." he asked, "Do you by chance know Lieutenant Arnold Jones?"

The cops paused for a second, then nodded.

"Can you tell him hi for me?" he asked. "He helped me out awhile back, and if you guys work for him, I know I can trust you."

The cops nodded again, then quickly left the store. Casey watched them go, then turned to Luigi.

"Those guys aren't cops."

…

It was a rare morning that Splinter did not awaken to the chaotic sounds of his children. As he ventured out of his room, he walked into the living room, where his children and their new house guest were sleeping.

When Hisako had first been adopted into his unique family, she had been plagued by regular nightmares to the point that she would awaken everybody with her screaming. To prevent further nightmares, she would usually spend the rest of the night sleeping with one of her brothers, if not Master Splinter himself. This went on for some time before Donatello came up with an idea

Using the mattresses from their beds, as well as one or two from the dump, the purple turtle constructed what he called the "turtle-sized" bed. It was easily big enough to hold all four turtles and Hisako, and after some reconstruction of the living room, the siblings could now rest peacefully through the night.

Leatherhead, not wanting to leave Hisako's side, had settled onto the couch, where he had fallen into a restful sleep of his own. It was a relief to see all six of them resting easily after the events of yesterday. However, he heard faint growls coming from Leatherhead's couch. It would seem that, like Hisako, he suffered from nightly terrors.

The crocodile tossed and turned before sitting up, growling loudly. At his exclamation, all four turtles and Hisako sat up violently, weapons drawn and shouting at the same time.

"Who!" Leo screamed.

"What!" Donny shouted.

"Where!" Raph also screamed.

"Why!" Hisako added.

Mikey, always one to joke no matter the situation, had to have his own interjection.

"And how!"

The other three turtles looked at their brother as Hisako checked on Leatherhead.

"You okay big guy?" she asked.

He held his head as he took a few deep breaths.

"I am alright." he said after a minute. "I apologize for scaring you all."

Realizing there was danger, the turtles all flopped back onto the bed, groaning. Hisako chuckled at the sight, then looked down at her brothers.

"Well, since we're awake, hows about I make us some breakfast."

She was met with a chorus of growling stomachs, including Leatherhead's. Hisako giggled at the sound.

"I will take that as a yes."

She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, ready to see what they had to make.

"Let's see… I have the makings for omelets, breakfast tacos, just some eggs and bacon… I think I have enough flour and sugar to make some pancakes if that's what we want."

Mikey sauntered into the kitchen and closed the fridge door. Hisako looked at her brother confused as he grinned at her.

"Or, you could go and get us a pizza." He suggested with a big grin.

Hisako shook her head with a small smile.

"Pizza?" she asked. "For breakfast?"

Mikey shrugged.

"Hey, if we can eat breakfast for lunch or dinner, we should be able to eat lunch and dinner for breakfast."

Raph sat up on the mattress, looking over at the orange turtle.

"For once, I agree with the goofball." he remarked. "After all, we never did get that pizza yesterday."

Hisako looked at Raph with a surprised expression, then she turned to Donny.

"Come on Don. Tell them that's not a good idea."

The purple turtle contemplated this for a minute.

"Actually, a pizza would provide the necessary nourishment a breakfast should have. I see no problem with getting one for breakfast."

Hisako looked at Donny as if he had lost it. In desperation, she turned to Leo.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked,

She had hoped he would be sensible and say no. Instead, the blue turtle merely shrugged.

"A pizza does sound good." he mused.

Hisako threw her hands up in mock surrender, a laugh escaping from her lips.

"Alright. I yield. I'll go get a pizza. But know that I am doing this under protest."

The brothers all playfully pushed her as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the ladder leading up to the garage.

"I'll be back in half an hour." she told them, "And try to stay out of trouble this time!"

"No promises!" Mikey called.

Hisako could hear Raph smacking Mikey as she made her way up to the surface.

…..

The three cops from before sat in a large armored car parked about a block away from Mario Brothers Pizzeria. They had cameras set up inside and outside the parlor, waiting for the girl to show up. However, his men were quickly proving to be the impatient sort, getting restless after less than a day of watching.

"Why the hell are we sitting here?" The first guy asked. "We should be out doing… I don't know… something besides just sitting here."

The second guy groaned, turning to his cohort.

"Look, Hun put us on this job, so we're gonna do it." he snapped. "So just be patient."

The first guy slammed his fist on the table in front of him in frustration.

"You've been saying that for hours man. Frikken hours! I'm tired of being patient!"

"Well, then by all means, go on and blow our operation by pulling some sort of stupid stunt and get us all into trouble. Just like you always do!" The second guy shouted in retaliation.

"You got a bone to pick with me or something?!" the first guy yelled, standing up.

"I got much more than a bone you dirty piece of-"

Before the second thug could finish his retort, the third guy turned to them both

"Will you both just shut up?! Look!"

The two turned to the screens where a motorcycle had just pulled up. The rider removed their helmet to reveal a girl. And not just any girl.

Their target.

The second guy grabbed a nearby walkie-talkie, switching it on.

"Oracle spotted. Proceed to intercept positions and be ready for action."

The first guy smiled and cracked his knuckles.

"Finally."

…

Hisako was surprised to see Casey standing at the front counter, a worried look on his face. When the door closed behind her, Casey looked up in surprise, hiding his worried expression with a grin.

"Hey Hisako." He called.

"Hey Case." She replied, approaching the counter. "What's up? You look a bit stressed."

"Been working full shifts for the past two weeks straight. Mom fell behind on some of the bills, so I've been putting in extra hours to help her out."

Hisako smiled. For all the toughness he tries to portray, deep down, he was nothing but a big softy. Still, something still seemed off. She was tempted to read his mind to find out what was wrong, but ultimately decided against it. Casey deserved to have his secrets. After all, he respected hers.

"Hisako?" Casey said, waving a hand in front of her face.

She blinked.

"Sorry… zoning out."

"It's cool." He shrugged. "Besides, you're here for a pizza, not to play Dr. Phil with me."

"Yep." Hisako replied. "Two actually. An extra-large meat lovers, and my usual. An old friend needed a place to crash, and he's a serious carnivore."

Casey nodded.

"Got it. One extra-large meat lovers, and a thin crust pizza with mushrooms and pineapple."

Hisako froze, alarm bells going off in her head. Casey never got her order wrong, and when he did, it was never that badly. It was almost as if he was doing it…

On…

Purpose…

"You know me so well…" she replied hesitantly.

Casey turned his back to Hisako, walking towards the doors leading to the kitchen.

"You know what I always say…" Casey began.

The door opened behind Hisako as Casey reached for something in the kitchen.

"The day I get your order wrong…"

The door shut and Hisako could sense three different presences behind her.

"Is the day you know something is wrong."

On instinct, Hisako spun on her heals, bring up her foot for a kick. She connected with one of three men, all of them dressed in police uniforms, sending her victim flying. However, it was obvious these guys weren't here to protect and serve. Seeing the other two attempting to reach their pistols, Hisako rushed forward, jabbing the second attacker in the neck and bringing him to his knees. With a swift chop, the guy was out cold.

The third guy was much smarter, and much faster. When Hisako went for a blow, he leaned out of the way, grabbing her wrist and twisting it behind her back painfully. She grunted in pain, trying to free herself. It was then that the third guy said two words that made her blood run cold.

"Hello, Oracle."

Hisako barely had time to gasp before a loud crack echoed through the pizzeria. The guy's grip on her arm loosened, allowing for her to pull away. When she turned to face him again, she watched him slump to the ground out cold. Standing over him, brandishing a, now broken, wooden baseball bat, was Casey. He was breathing heavily, and glaring at the three men on the ground in what Hisako could only describe as utter hatred.

"Casey?" she asked nervously.

Casey discarded the broken bat, turning to his friend.

"Are you okay?" he asked, "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"N-no..." She replied.

"Good." he told her. "Because I would have bashed their skulls in if they had. Bad enough they were pretending to be cops, but they tried to sell me some BS story about you being a criminal."

Hisako was hyperventilating, trying to control the rampant thoughts shooting through her brain like lightning. That cop had called her Oracle, meaning he knew who she was, and what she was. And that meant he could only be working for one person.

"Stockman..." she whispered.

Casey, who was making sure the three men wouldn't be getting up again, looked up at Hisako in confusion.

"What's a Stockman?" he asked.

Hisako shook her head, trying to bring herself back into reality. Now was not the time to sink into one of her fits of terror. She needed to focus. Thinking quickly, she reached into her bag to grab her shell cell. Unfortunately, the phone had been reduced to a small handful of sparking bits of metal and glass.

"Damnit..." she cursed. "I can't call the guys… What do I do?"

Knowing panicking would get her nowhere, she tried one of the many calming techniques that Splinter had showed her. As she regained her senses, a question dawned on her.

"Wait a second. Casey!" She called.

Casey stood up and walked into the kitchen. Hisako followed, but stopped just on the outside of the swinging doors.

"How did you know those guys weren't cops?"

Casey seemed to scoff.

"I asked them if they knew Detective Arnold Jones. They said they did. That's how I knew they were fake."

"How?" Hisako questioned.

The kitchen doors opened again and Casey reemerged. He had ditched his work uniform for a red sleeveless shirt, jeans, and an old gold bag full of different sporting equipment. There were hockey sticks, baseball bats, golf clubs, cricket bats, croquet mallets, even lacrosse sticks. He pulled out his hockey mask and slipped it onto his face.

"Because Detective Jones was my father." he replied. "And he was killed in action six years ago."

Outside, the sounds of motorcycle engines and armored trucks filled the air. Looking through the blinds of the window, Both Hisako and Casey saw an entire armada of vehicles surrounding the shop. From one of the trucks, a familiar wall of muscle emerged, causing Hisako to start breathing heavily again.

"Block all the exits." he ordered. "Surround the building and prepare to move in. Nobody gets out unless they're in chains."

With that, the two of them bolted away from the window, taking cover behind the counter.

"We need to get out of here." Hisako declared. "But how?"

Just then five motorheads crashed through the front window of the store. Knowing a fight couldn't be avoided, Hisako steeled herself.

"Casey," she hissed. "Stay here and-"

"Like hell I will." he interrupted.

Before Hisako could argue, he jumped up from behind the counter, charging towards the motorheads with a hockey stick in hand.

"Goongala!"

He caught one of the motorheads off guard, the blade of his stick getting him in the back of the neck. A second came to aid his fallen comrade, drawing a long sword as he ran. He attempted to slice at Casey, but fortunately, Casey brought his hockey stick up to block it just in time.

"A sword?" Casey noted sounding surprised. "What is this, medieval times?"

The motorhead didn't respond. He just continued to try and kill Casey with his sword, only for Casey to block each strike. Another motorhead came up behind him and prepared to attack, but before he could, he received a kick to the head from Hisako. Casey turned and looked surprised.

"Hisako?" Casey asked dumbfounded.

"Duck!" she ordered as she readied for a punch.

Casey ducked and she hit a motorhead in the gut. With a flip, she landed hard on the motorhead's helmeted face, knocking the guy unconscious. This left two more of attackers to deal with. Casey replaced his hockey stick, pulling out dual baseball bats instead. Hisako went back to back with him, drawing her tessen and getting into a fighting stance. Casey looked over his shoulder at her in confusion as the two motorheads attacked.

"Since when do you know karate?" he asked, swinging his bats at his motorhead.

"I don't." She replied, slicing at hers with the edge of her fans. "It's ninjutsu."

"Gesundheit." he responded as he kicked his in the gut, then brought his bats down on the poor sap's back.

"No, Ninjutsu." she corrected, "The ancient Japanese art of stealth and combat. Like this."

She slid underneath the guy's legs, getting to her feet in a second and using her momentum to attack with a spin kick. The guy went flying out the only unbroken window, entangling in the blinds.

"Wow..." Casey muttered. "Remind me never to piss you off."

Outside, Hun was getting pissed.

"B-team, move in!" he ordered.

Thinking fast, Casey grabbed Hisako's hand, pulling her into the kitchen. They ducked into the pantry, closing the door just as the second wave came crashing in. Huddling in the darkness, Hisako tried to focus, figure out just how many attackers there were. Unfortunately, she was still shaken by the knowledge that her old life was trying to reclaim her, a realization that left her unable to focus. It also didn't help that Casey's brain was abuzz with questions.

"Hisako?" he hissed. "Who are these guys? Why are they after you? And how are you a frikken ninja?"

Hisako gave up trying to use her powers, turning to Casey.

"I'm a ninja because my father trained me to be one. And the term is Kunoichi."

"Okay, now I'm sure you're just making up words."

The two fell silent as a shadow passed over the door. They didn't even dare to breathe. Finally, the shadow passed and they sighed in relief.

"Keep searching men!" Hun's voice called from the front of the store. "Oracle's in their somewhere."

Once again, Hisako flinched at that name. She was okay with Leatherhead calling her Oracle, but anyone else using that name sent a chill up her spine.

"That reminds me." Casey whispered. "Why are these guys calling you Oracle? Just what are you to them?"

Hisako's breath caught in her throat. She stuttered for a moment, trying to come up with a suitable lie to tell him, but every excuse died on her tongue. She couldn't lie to Casey. He was one of the only friends she had that wasn't a mutant. Even when he had asked about her life, she had never outright lied to him. Omitted details, yes, but never lied. She couldn't start now.

"Oracle… is short for Project Oracle." she reluctantly explained. "It is what I was called before… Before I escaped."

Casey squinted in confusion.

"Project Oracle? Escaped? Just what is going on here?"

Hisako took a deep breath. This was gonna be hard.

"When I was little, I was the prisoner of a secret, privately owned laboratory. They held me against my will, torturing me and using me until I escaped four years ago."

Casey was stunned. He crouched there for a minute, his brain trying to process what he had just learned. Hisako had always said she'd had a rough childhood, but he never imagined being held captive in some lab. That's when another question arose.

"Why were you in a lab?" he asked. "What were they using you for?"

Hisako hesitated, but steeled herself and answered.

"They were using me- because of what I can do."

Casey was almost afraid to ask his next question.

"What… what can you do?"

Hisako took a deep breath.

"I can read minds…" she explained. "I'm telepathic."

Casey snorted.

"Yeah right." he hissed. "And I'm Wolverine"

Hisako didn't even hesitate.

"When we first met, you were thinking about how you were going to convince April to go out with you despite the fact that you had called her 'carrot-top' most of your sophomore year of high school."

Casey blinked in surprise. He had never told Hisako that story, and he was almost positive that April didn't either. Hisako then continued.

"When I first came into the pizza joint, you slipped me an extra-large instead of a large after you learned I had four brothers. You were planning an excuse for the missing dough involving a cold and flour up your nose."

Now That story, Casey knew he hadn't told anyone, especially Hisako.

"Also, you purposely hide how smart you really are to give you an excuse to see April all the time. You actually have A's and B's rather than the barely passing grades you tell April you have."

Casey held up his hand, silencing her.

"Okay… I get it. You can read minds. And whoever these guys are, they know it, and they want you back."

Hisako nodded, a lump forming in her stomach.

"They originally thought I was dead thanks to a friend of mine. I guess they somehow found out I'm still alive and set this trap for me." She pulled her legs closer to her, hugging herself. "And like a fool I walked right into it. Now they have me right where they want me, powerless and trapped."

Casey blinked in confusion

"Powerless?" he asked

"I'm too stressed, too scared, and I can't focus." she explained. "Trust me, I just tried."

Casey sighed, leaning against the wall next to her. Outside the pantry, they could hear Hun and his men tearing the restaurant apart looking for them. Hisako knew from experience that they wouldn't give up until she was found. She also knew it was only a matter of time before one of them finally looked in the pantry.

_What am I gonna do?_ She thought to herself_. I can't call my brothers, I can't use my powers, and there are way too many enemies to take on, even with Casey by my side._

Hisako closed her eyes, fighting back tears of pure fear. She knew what she had to do, and it terrified her.

"Casey, I need you to do something for me."

As if sensing what she was about to say, Casey pulled the mask off his face, looking Hisako in the eye.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it." he told her.

"Look, these guys are here for me. You might be able to get away if I draw their attention. And if you do, I have a chance of getting out of this as well."

"Hisako, no…"

"There's no other choice." By now, Hisako's throat felt as if there was a hot coal sitting in her windpipe. "I can give you a minute to get to my bike and get out of here."

She handed over a small key with a turtle shell key chain attached. Casey took it, the fear in Hisako's eyes reflected in his own.

"Hisako…"

"You know the warehouse district on the south side?" Hisako asked. "There's an old maintenance garage called Renaissance Motors. The building is decorated in Japanese Kanji and turtle shell designs. Go there and tell those you find there what happened here. Don't leave anything out."

Casey wanted to argue, wanted to convince her that this was a bad idea. He wanted to assure her that they could both escape, but not even he would believe his words. He just had to trust Hisako.

"Alright…" he said finally, his fist clenching around the key.

Hisako stood up, facing the pantry door. She wiped stray tears from her eyes and steeled herself.

_God help me…_

She kicked open the door of the pantry, drawing everyone's attention.

"You guys want me?" She asked, throwing her arms open. "Well here I am! Come and get me!"

The motorheads charged toward her with weapons drawn. Hisako ran towards them while Casey made his way to the back. Hisako used her Tessen to slice one motorhead in the chest while she elbowed another one. Keeping pace, she grabbed another one and threw him out the window. She jumped out the window as well and continued to duke it out with the motorheads. Hisako wasted no time taking out one after another. In a flurry of motion, she sliced at them with her tessen and kicked them to the ground, knocking them out cold. She knew she couldn't fight forever, but she had to hope she was buying Casey enough time, and, in the vainest hope, give herself a chance to escape herself.

Casey bolted out of the pantry, keeping low and using the kitchen's counters as protection from flying enemies and various cooking ware. He got to the back door, opening it hard enough to catch its guard in between the door and the wall.

"That's for getting in my way." he taunted as he stomped down hard on the guy's helmet.

He made it to Hisako's bike, turning to see if she could make a break for it with him. Unfortunately, one of the motorheads pulled out a taser stick and struck Hisako with it. She quickly kicked him in the stomach causing him to drop the stick. Before she could make another move, she was struck by another motorhead with a taser stick.

And another.

And another.

And another.

All too soon, she was overwhelmed with the amount of electricity surging through her body until she finally dropped to the ground.

"Hisako!" Casey shouted.

The remaining adversaries all turned to him as Hisako struggled to stay conscious. She met his eyes, and in that moment, he felt something enter his mind. He then heard a single word resonate through his entire body.

_Run._

Casey jammed the key into the ignition, gunning the engine of the bike. A pair of motorheads attempted to intercept him, but he just sped right through them, his bat knocking them off their feet. He rounded a corner and disappeared, regretting every mile of his escape. Hisako allowed herself a small smile before blackness engulfed her.

_Run Casey…_

Her eyes closed as she sank to the ground. A pair of motorheads came and picked her up, holding the unconscious girl between them. Hun looked down at her, taking her face in his large fingers.

"Mission accomplished." Hun said with a sneer, dropping her face.

"What about the boy?" one of the men asked.

Hun turned to where the boy had been, his smile never diminishing.

"Let him run. He'll just make our job easier for us. After all, someone has to inform those freaks."

Hun then picked up Hisako's limp form, tossing her into the van, then climbing in himself. The doors slammed shut and the van drove off.


	10. Recurring Nightmares

Casey drove through the warehouse district like a mad man, desperately trying to find Renaissance Motors. He was getting increasingly worried, knowing that every minute he was lost was another minute Hisako was in the hands of those kidnappers. He just had to hope that whoever was at this garage would be able to help him.

As Casey rounded a corner, he spotted the building he needed. Like Hisako had described, it was covered in Japanese letters and turtle shell designs, on top of layers of other graffiti. He practically floored it, screeching up to the main door and ditching bike in an instant. There was no door save for the garage, so Casey went over to it, pounding on the metal as hard as he could.

"Hello?!" he called, pressing his ear against the door to try and hear if anyone was inside. "Is anyone there?!"

There was no response, not so much as a small rustle of movement. In a desperate motion, Casey tried to open the door, but it was obviously locked.

"Great, nobody's home..."

He slumped against the garage, trying to come up with a plan. That's when a thought struck him. Considering Hisako never talked about having any friends outside of himself and April, then odds are, this was where here brothers could be found. And if they had a secret like Hisako's, which they most likely did, they wouldn't just answer the door for anybody.

"I need to get in there."

He went over to Hisako's bike, grabbing the keys out of the ignition. There was a second key on the ring, and Casey had a hunch of where it went to. He hunched down in front of the handle of the garage door, inserting the key in the lock.

"Come on, please be the right-" He heard the distinct click and breathed a sigh of the relief. "Goongala."

He pulled the door open, slipping inside and closing the door behind him.

"I know you're in here!" He called, walking slowly around the room. "Please, come out!"

Casey was right, there were people in the garage, but they were making sure that they remained undetected. Hiding in the rafters of the garage, the four turtles looked down at the intruder stalking about their above-ground hideout.

"How did this bozo find us?" Raph hissed at Leo, glaring down at Casey.

"I don't know, Raph." Leo replied.

Casey looked around the Shellraiser as Donny made his way over to Leo and Raph.

"He doesn't look like a Purple Dragon," Donny commented, examining Casey inquisitively. "And he's way too loud to be a Motorhead."

Mikey swung across the rafters, approaching Leo with a worried look on his face.

"Guys, he has the shell cycle." he whispered.

The brothers all froze, then slid across the beams until they could see out a small window at the top of the garage. Sure enough, the shell cycle was lying on its side, abandoned by their new intruder.

"Where did he get that?" Leo questioned.

"Let's find out." Raph growled.

Before any of his brothers could protest, Raph jumped down from the rafters, landing silently behind Casey. The teen barely heard the sound of Raph drawing one of his sai, but he sure felt the cold tip pressing against the back of his neck. He froze as the red turtle snarled.

"You have exactly two seconds to tell me who you are, and what the shell you're doing with my sister's bike!"

Casey remained still, his heart racing from fear. Still, he gulped, forcing it down as he answered.

"N-names Casey. Casey Jones"

"Isn't that the name of a train conductor?" Mikey asked, earning him a smack on the head from Donnie.

"Mikey this is serious!" he scolded.

"Sorry." Mikey apologized.

The tip of Raph's sai began to dig a bit deeper into Casey's neck.

"That answers the first question." Raph sneered. "But i still haven't heard a decent excuse for having our sister's bike!"

"Because she gave it to me!" Casey explained.

"And why would she do that?" Leo asked, joining his brothers on the ground.

"Because she didn't have a choice." Casey answered

There was a sudden rustle of motion, then Casey had a blade underneath his throat and the end of a staff pointed at him by a shadowy figure. Just in the darkness, Casey could make out someone twirling a set of nunchuks. Casey gulped.

"Bad choice of words." he muttered to himself.

Raph was seconds away from spearing Casey through the neck, but even the hothead knew that they needed more info before they could act. Knowing Raph was probably holding himself back by mere margins, Leo took over the questioning.

"Why didn't she have a choice?" he demanded. "Did you threaten her?"

Casey's eyes went wide.

"No!" he immediately shouted. "I would never-!"

He took a deep breath, regaining himself.

"No." he said softer this time. "I'm her friend. I work at Mario Brother's Pizzeria. I would never hurt her."

"Then where is she?" Leo asked.

Casey fell silent, praying his captor wouldn't kill him after his next three words.

"I don't know."

Raph snapped. Tossing his Sai aside, he grabbed Casey and spun him around. Before anyone could intervene, he had the boy pinned to the wall, held up by the straps of his shirt and his golf bag. Unfortunately, by doing so, he had stepped into the little light provided by the boarded up windows. Casey's eyes went wide as he stared at the red turtle, partially out of fear, but mostly out of shock at what he saw.

"Whaddya mean ya don't know?!" Raph demanded. "You tell us where our sisters is, or I will beat the ever living shell outta-!"

"Raph!" The other three turtle shouted

Raph turned to them, and then noticed where he was standing. He blinked, then slowly released Casey, letting him fall to the ground.

"Oh shell..."

"Yeah." Donny commented. "Way to go."

"You just blew our cover!" Leo chastised. "And now look, you've terrified the one person who could tell us where Hisako is!"

As the four brothers went off on one another, Casey slowly got to his feet, trying to process what he was seeing.

Okay… he thought to himself. Hisako's brothers… are turtles… with ninja weapons… alright then…

Knowing every second counted, Casey forced the flood of questions into the back of his mind and straightened himself. Turtles or not, if they were Hisako's brothers, and if they had any of the training that she had shown, he would be a fool not to ally with them.

"Umm, look." he called.

The four turtles all turned to Casey.

"I don't know what's going on, but what I do know is that Hisako is in danger, and she needs help."

Donny stepped forward, figuring he was the most rational of the brothers at the moment.

"Tell us what happened." He said.

Casey took a deep breath and began talking.

"These guys came to the restaurant pretending to be cops, but after testing them, i knew they were fakes so I waited for Hisako to come and I warned her, but unfortunately I was unable to keep her safe for too long, which forced her to tell me about her psychic powers and her past with some creepy secret lab." He paused just long enough to take another breath before continuing. "After that, she gave me the key to her bike and told me to come here and get help because those creeps in motorcycle helmets and the gigantic wall of muscle were after her and only her, and she was right because I was able to get away so I could find you and get help."

Donny held up a hand, stopping Casey there. Leo came closer, looking at the purple turtle.

"Did you get any of that Don?" he asked.

"Yeah." Mikey remarked. "He was talking faster than an auctioneer."

Donny nodded.

"You mentioned guys in motorcycle helmets." he said to Casey. "Were they dressed in all black and did they carry any unconventional weapons?"

"If by unconventional, you mean frikken swords and throwing stars, then yes." Casey nodded.

The turtles all exchanged worried looks.

"It was Hun and those Motorheads." Leo realized.

"They took Hisako." Raph remarked. "Probably for revenge against us kicking their shells the other night."

Casey shook his head.

"I don't think so." He told them, "They kept calling her something. It was… I think it started with an 'o'?"

The turtles all froze, their collective stomachs plummeting.

"Oracle?" Mikey hesitantly asked, "Was that the name?"

Casey snapped his fingers, pointing at Mikey.

"That was it. Oracle."

The brothers all exchanged fearful glances as Casey came closer.

"How bad is it?" He asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

Leo looked Casey straight in the eye, the fear he felt practically etched into his face.

"Bad."

…

The pungent smell of antiseptics filled Hisako's nose as she slowly regained consciousness. As she opened her eyes, she was nearly blinded by the sheer whiteness of her surroundings. She could hear the faint beeping of a heart rate monitor off to the side, as well as the sound of a camera zooming in on her.

Looking down at herself, Hisako found that she was seated in an old wheelchair, leather straps restraining her at every joint. Her clothing had been replaced with an all too familiar hospital gown. She could also feel cold air passing over her head, and knew instantly her hair was gone.

It was Hisako's worst nightmares all over again. She was back. They had her again. The crippling fear took hold of her and she could hear her own pulse on the monitor suddenly skyrocket. It was that frantic beeping that allowed her to focus, pushing past the fear that threatened to swallow her whole. She wasn't going to be scared. She was done being scared.

And besides, her brothers would come. She wasn't alone anymore.

In that moment, the clear Plexiglas window that served as the door to Hisako's 'room' hissed as it opened. Hisako looked up to see the figure that had haunted her nightmares all her life. Despite her hopes that rescue would come, she felt that cold fear return as Dr. Stockman walked into the room.

"Ah, look who finally decided to wake up." Stockman greeted in his typical cocky fashion. "I must say it is so wonderful to have you back with us. I was so heartbroken to hear you had perished at the hands of Project Leatherhead. When your survival was confirmed, I couldn't contain my excitement."

Hisako stared at the man, not saying a word. The doctor seemed pleased by this defiance.

"It would seem that four years on your own has strengthened more than your body." he chuckled. "I will enjoy breaking your spirits once again. And this time, there is nobody to come and rescue you."

Hisako snorted.

"That's what you think." she whispered. "My brothers will find me, and when they do-"

"Your brothers?" Stockman interrupted. "You mean those overgrown turtles you associate yourself with? I must admit, I was intrigued to learn there were mutants outside of my research. Perhaps I can examine them once they're caught."

Hisako's breath hitched at the thought of her brothers suffering at the hands of Stockman. However, rather than scare her like Stockman had intended, it just made her angry.

"You lay a finger on them, and I will-"

Stockman reached into his pocket, pulling out a small remote with a red button. Hisako stopped mid-word at the sight of it.

"I see you still remember what this device does."

Hisako was now vividly aware of the electrodes attached to her head. With a sadistic smile, Stockman jammed his finger down on the button.

It was as if every nerve in Hisako's body was now on fire. Everything hurt. She screamed in pain, pulling against her restraints as Stockman just watched. After a moment, he released the button, allowing Hisako to sag in her chair. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to regain her breath.

"While I would usually advise against disobedience or lack of respect, I would love for you to keep fighting me. Give me a reason to use this again."

Hisako looked up at Stockman, a strange green glow appearing in her eyes. Glancing over at the brain-wave monitor on the wall, Stockman could see increased activity.

"Attempting to use your powers on me?" he asked. "What are you going to do? Make me see your little red slide show? Or maybe you'll try and guess what number I'm thinking of."

Hisako just smirked.

"Watch..." she spat.

All of a sudden, her head shot back and her eyes closed. Her brain activity went off the charts, then went basically flat lined. Stockman blinked, looking at the monitor, then down at Hisako. His self-assured grin slowly faded, replaced by an angry scowl.

"Forcing yourself into a coma." he snarled. "Clever girl."

He walked through the still open door, where about three doctors stood waiting.

"Wake her up." he ordered. "By any means necessary."

The doctors nodded, then walked into the room, the transparent door sealing behind them.

…

Splinter and Leatherhead sat at the dining room table, the both of them enjoying a cup of tea while they waited for the breakfast pizzas. Leatherhead had unfortunately broken a few mugs with his grip, but luckily, there were a few metal cups that were not so easily destroyed.

"I thank you for the tea." Leatherhead said softly. "I have not tasted anything as nice as this before."

Splinter just smiled, nodding a 'you're welcome'. In that moment, the unmistakable sound of bodies sliding down the tunnel reached their ears. Setting the tea aside, the two turned as the turtles came flying into the beanbag pile.

"My sons." Splinter greeted. "Where is your-?"

He heard a fifth figure coming down the tunnel. Thinking it was Hisako, he paused, waiting for them to land. However, when he saw an unfamiliar human emerge from the tunnel, he immediately went into defensive mode. Leatherhead was the same, his eyes glowing red as he grabbed the boy.

"Leatherhead, wait!" Leo screamed, trying to get in between the crocodile and Casey. "This is Casey Jones! He's a… friend… of Hisako's!"

At the mention of Hisako's name, Leatherhead released Casey, dropping him back onto the beanbags. He slowly got to his feet, brushing himself off and staring at the two new mutants.

"A giant rat and an alligator." he muttered. "Okay then..."

"Actually," Donny whispered. "Leatherhead is a crocodile."

"Oh..." Casey muttered.

Splinter was not happy. He walked right up to Casey, pointing his walking stick in his face.

"Who is this?" He asked. "And why have you brought him into our home?"

That's when Leatherhead noticed a distinct lack of his friend. The glow began to return as he too faced the group.

"And where is Oracle?" he asked.

Everyone immediately turned to Casey, not wanting to be the one to break the news to the two of them, especially Leatherhead. Casey glared at them, then turned towards Splinter and Leatherhead.

"She's been kidnapped." he explained.

"What?!" Leatherhead roared.

Splinter was suddenly shoved aside as Leatherhead picked Casey up like he was nothing, shoving him into the wall of the lair. He hit so hard that the brick cracked, nearly forming a Casey-shaped hole in the wall.

"What have you done with her?!" he demanded. "Speak before I tear your throat out!"

The four turtles all grabbed onto Leatherhead's arms, trying to pull him off.

"He's not responsible!" Mikey tried to explain. "Hisako sent him! She sent him to come get help!"

Once more, the mention of Hisako visibly calmed the croc, allowing Donny and Leo to free Casey from his grip. He coughed and sputtered, having had the air knocked out of him, but was, thankfully, still in one piece.

"I take it he's protective of Hisako..." Casey wheezed.

"More than you could ever imagine." Splinter replied.

Casey looked up at the rat, slightly fearing another shake-down. Luckily, Splinter was surprisingly calm.

"Tell us what you know." he asked.

Casey nodded.

"Long story short, these guys in full motorcycle gear snatched her." he explained. "And apparently, they're from her past, at least, that's what these guys said."

Leatherhead turned to Casey, a fearful expression crossing his face,

"Her past?" he repeated.

Leo approached the croc, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"They called her Oracle." he said softly. "Project Oracle."

For the first time since the turtles had met him, Leatherhead seemed to quake in fear. He fell to his knees, clutching his head as tears of fear ran down his face.

"No..." he muttered. "Oracle..."

Master Splinter was in equal shock. His walking stick fell from his hand as he was forced to lean against a wall for support.

"No… my child… not again…"

Mikey walked over to Splinter, showing a surprisingly serious side as he helped his sensei regain his feet.

"We'll find her." he promised. "We've got to."

Leo nodded, then turned to Donny.

"Don, see if you can find out anything about the place that Hisako's been taken to."

"How?" he asked.

Raph perked up.

"How about that name Hisako keeps screaming during the night." he suggested. "Dexter Hackman?"

Leatherhead started growling as he looked up, the fear giving way to his trademark anger.

"No..." he corrected. "Baxter Stockman."

Donny cracked his knuckles and ran over to his computer, beginning his search.

…

Stockman closed the door to his private office, sitting down at his desk. He opened his laptop, quickly logging in and turning on his private video-chat feed. After a minute, his call was answered by the Master, his form cloaked by the dimness of his feudal-era office.

"Stockman," the master greeted. "You have news for me?"

"I'm happy to report that the plan was a success." Stockman reported. "Miraculously, Hun managed not to screw up retrieving Project Oracle. She is now safely back in my care and she has sent a messenger to alert her turtle allies. I estimate that they shall also be in my care within the next 72 hours. Who knows? Maybe they will bring Project Leatherhead with them, considering her… affiliations with him."

"Excellent Stockman." The Master complemented, genuine pleasure in his voice. "You will keep me updated on your progress."

Before the master could hang up, Stockman held up a finger to stop him.

"There is… one slight issue with Project Oracle I must mention." Stockman admitted.

"Issue?" the master asked raising an eyebrow.

"You see," Stockman began. "She has fallen into a self-induced comatose state, effectively making her brain dead. While I believe it is possible to wake her up, perhaps some assistance from your… 'Information gathers' would help speed up the process."

The Master paused for a moment.

"You try my patience Stockman." He responded before thinking for a moment. "Very well. I have invested too much into this project to let it slip through my fingers again."

Stockman put his hands together, slightly bowing in gratitude.

"Thank you Master." Stockman said with a sigh of relief. "I swear you shall not be disappointed."

"I had better not." The Master warned, "For your sake.

The connection ended there, reducing the screen to static.

…

Splinter bandaged up a few small wounds that Casey had received, both from his fight in the pizzeria, and from his two shake-downs. While that happened, Leatherhead stalked around the lair as the brothers all gathered around Donny's computer.

"What did you find Donnie?" Leo asked.

"Looks like Baxter Stockman has made quite a name for himself." Donnie noted scrolling though information about the mad scientist on the net. "Nobel Prize winner in 2013, holder of 5 different PHDs, graduated from MIT at the age of 16. On top of that, he's CEO and lead scientist at the Technological Creations and Research Institute."

"That's a mouthful." Mikey commented.

"It's just TCRI for short." Donnie informed.

In the other room, Splinter overheard his son's discussion, and stood up at Donatello's last statement.

"Donatello," Splinter called out as he entered the room. The four turtles turned to face him. "What was that last thing you said?"

"That the organization Stockman works for is TCRI."

For the second time that morning, Splinter's walking stick clattered out of his hands. A torrent of memories flooded his vision. The tremendous crash as the large chemical truck demolished his home. The heat of the flames as his old life exploded before him. The feeling of being torn apart, both physically and mentally.

Leatherhead ceased his pacing, catching Splinter as he stumbled.

"I know that look all too well." he commented. "TCRI means something to you. Something horrible."

"That company took everything from me." Splinter revealed. "My home. My wife. My child. Even my humanity. And now it seeks to take everything from me again."

The brothers turned away from the computer, going to comfort their sensei. As they did, Casey walked over to the laptop, looking at the picture of the lab on the screen.

"Hey… I think that's the lab that April's interning at." he realized.

Mikey looked over.

"Who's April?" he asked.

"April O'Neil, my girlfriend." he explained. "She got offered an internship by one of the scientists there. She's been going on about it for weeks now."

An idea suddenly struck Leo.

"Casey, do you think we could use her to get into TCRI?" Leo asked, a hopeful expression on his face.

Casey thought for a moment, as if hesitant to reply.

"It's… possible." He allowed, "But, you'd have to take to her. And I mean, face-to-face."

"If we have to reveal ourselves to another human to ensure Hisako comes home, then I say bring it on." Raph decided.

"No!" Splinter interjected. "It is foolish to reveal our presence to just any human. It is bad enough that this young man has been dragged into our lives-"

"Hey!" Casey interrupted.

"-but to willing bring another is something I will not allow."

Leo looked at his sensei, slightly torn.

"Sensei, while I would usually agree with you, we're going to need all the help we can get."

"Yeah." Casey added. "Look, I know I just met you guys, and I know i ain't gonna earn your trust overnight, but Hisako is my friend, and she's April's as well. I'm willing to lay down my life to help her, and I can practically guarantee that April will do the same."

Splinter paused for a moment, weighing his options. He did not want to put his trust in two humans he did not know, but he also knew that Leonardo spoke the truth. If they were to save Hisako, then they would need as much extra support as they could get. With a sigh, he lowered his head.

"Go." he told them. "Find this April O'Neil. Bring her here."

The turtles all nodded, then Raph paused.

"Bring her here?" he asked. "You sure Sensei?"

Splinter stood up, gripping his walking stick so hard his knuckles turned white.

"If you think I am going to sit idly by while TCRI destroys my life again, then you know nothing. Once we have a plan, I am coming along."

Leatherhead cracked his knuckles, twisting his neck to pop it as well.

"I shall come as well." he added. "I refuse to let Oracle remain in that place. This time, I will tear it apart, brick by brick."

Raph just nodded, then joined his brothers and Casey as they clambered out of the sewers.

…

It was April's day off, the one day of the week that she didn't have the schlep papers, get coffee, or run around delivering messages. While she had planned to spend the day relaxing and catching up on some reading, her empty pantry had quickly changed her plans.

April pushed the door to her apartment complex open, holding about four large brown bags of groceries in her arms. As she shuffled over to the elevator, she did her best to try and juggle her bags and get her apartment keys at the same times.

"Where's a bellhop when you need one?" she thought as she balanced a bag on her leg before finally grabbing her keys from her purse.

The elevator dinged and she got out, and was grateful when her neighbor poked her head out.

"Hey April!" a nerdy looking girl coke-bottle glasses called out.

"Hey Irma." April replied. "Think you can help me?"

Irma came out, quickly taking two of the bags from April. When she saw the contents, she chuckled.

"Ran out of food again?" she asked

April nodded as they reached her apartment.

"I've been so focused on school and my new internship that I forgot to go shopping for the month."

"That'll do it to ya." Irma remarked with a smile.

The two girls reached the apartment, where April deftly opened the door. She set the groceries down in the hallway, then took the other bags from Irma.

"Thanks for the help."

"Any time." Irma waved.

April closed the door, walking two of the bags into the kitchen. When she went back for the other two and returned to the kitchen, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Standing in her kitchen, golf bag over his shoulder and hockey mask on his head, was Casey. He waved sheepishly as the other two grocery bags fell to the ground.

"Hey April…" he waved.

"Casey!" April shouted in surprised, bending down to pick up the fallen groceries. "How did you get in here?"

Casey helped her gather up the rest, placing them on the counter. After that, he leaned against the pantry door, as if trying to find the right words.

"Well…" Casey started, waving his hand in front of him. "I used the key you keep under the mat. You said I could if there was an emergency"

"I see." April noted, putting various produce in her fridge. "So what's the emergency? And why are you dressed like that?"

Casey paused. He honestly didn't know how to explain what was going on. He barely understood it himself. Still he had to try. April was crucial to the plan.

"Well it's…"Casey started. "... It's kinda a long story."

April raised an eyebrow, closing her refrigerator and leaning against it.

"I got time." April responded, crossing her arms in suspicion. "Now spill."

Casey gulped, then straightened up.

"Well," he began nervously. "You see… there was an… incident... at the pizzeria. These guys attacked the shop and practically destroyed everything-"

April suddenly shot forward, her analytical mind quickly scanning Casey for any signs of wounds.

"What do you mean attacked?" she exclaimed. "Are you ok?"

She then noticed the bandages on his arms and quickly checked them over. Casey had to pull his arms free, holding his girlfriend so she was facing him.

"April, I promise you, I'm fine." he reassured. "It's just… Well..."

"Just what?" April asked.

"There was… They kinda… ok I'll just say it. April…"

"Look dude you're not proposing to her!" Raphael's voice suddenly called from the fire escape. "Just tell her!"

Casey face palmed as April looked around in alarm.

"Who's that?" She asked before turning to face Casey. "Casey, how many people are in my apartment?"

"That's part of why I'm here." Casey answered, silently wishing that he wasn't on such a time crunch. "You know how Hisako is always talking about her brothers?"

She nodded slowly, confused.

"Yeah?" she responded. "But what does that have to do with-?"

That's when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Ever so slowly, the turned around. Almost immediately, she stumbled back, having come face to face with Raphael.

"Hi." He greeted curtly. "I'm Raphael. We need your help."

As she continued stumbling back, she ran into Donatello, who attempted to steady her. Instead, he only succeeded in starling her further.

"Whoa, calm down." he warned her. You're going to cause yourself to faint."

April was completely and utterly stupefied. As she ran into Leonardo, the blue turtle tried to stop her stumbling.

"We know our appearance is a bit…. Much to handle, but I promise you, we're not going to hurt you."

"Yeah!" Mikey agreed, walking up to her. "We're the good guys! I promise."

April looked between the four turtles, then at Casey. She could barely form a single word as she stuttered and pointed. Casey took her arm, helping to steady her.

"April… meet Hisako's brothers."

It was then that April reached her breaking point. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she fainted. Casey barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground. As he adjusted his grip on her, he looked up at the four turtles.

"Well that went better than expected." Donny remarked.


	11. Operation: Shell Shocked

April slowly came to, her head still fuzzy after fainting. As she pushed herself up, Casey's hand met her back.

"Easy there." he told her softly. "Just take it slow."

"Casey…?" she muttered, holding her head. "What…?"

"Let's not focus on that right now." he said. "Just drink this."

He handed her a warm mug of what smelled like tea. She sipped it, allowing the warmness to sooth her. As she began to regain her senses, she realized a few things.

One. She wasn't in her apartment

Two. She wasn't in Casey's apartment either.

Three. Wherever she was reeked of mildew and stale water.

"Um, Casey? Where are we?"

Casey gulped, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah… How much do you remember?" He asked.

April shrugged, taking another sip of her tea.

"I remember you scaring me, then you mentioned an attack on the pizzeria… and then-"

She froze mid-sip, suddenly remember just what is was that caused her to faint. She set her cup down, meeting Casey's eye.

"Then I saw four… large… monsters…"

"Hey, watch the 'M'-word!" Raph called out indignantly.

April squeaked, backing into the cushions of the couch she was sitting on as the turtles emerged from the shadows.

"Raph, calm down." Leo told his brother. "We've already made her faint once, let's try not to do it again."

"Hey, she's the one that used the M-word." Raph argued, gesturing to April. "I think I'm entitled to be offended by it."

April looked at the turtles, trying to rationalize what she was seeing. Part of her had hoped that she had just been dreaming, but here they were again.

"This- This can't be real." she muttered. "You- you can't be real."

Donny stepped forward.

"We are just as real as you and your friend are." he replied.

"Besides, if we weren't real, then why are you in our living room?" Mikey questioned.

April blinked, then looked around. She was in some sort of make-shift living quarters, a house that seemed to be built into the sewers. Thinking on that, it explained the mildew smell.

"Who are you?" She asked, hugging onto a couch pillow.

Mikey stepped forward, a grin on his face.

"I'm glad you asked. How's about I do the introductions?"

"Mikey-" Raph tried before being cut off by Donny.

"Let him." the purple turtle said. "He's been wanting a chance to do this for years."

Raph sighed and Mikey cleared his throat.

"Over here in the blue, we've got Leonardo. He's our fearless leader rocking the Dual Katanas."

Leo brandished his swords with a bit of flair before sliding them back into their sheathes.

"On my right in the purple is Donatello. He's a tactical genius who is, technically, a genius. Guy can make any piece of technology out of scraps from the dump."

Donny gave a bow, leaning against his staff.

"The hothead in the red is Raphael. He's a big cuddly teddy bear."

"Mikey, I swear-"

"If big cuddly teddy bears were incredibly violent wrecking machines." Mikey hastily added. "And finally, there's me. Michelangelo, sporting my signature orange. I'm the resident fun master and butt kicking master of the nunchuks."

In an air of showmanship, he pulled out his weapons, spinning them around in true Bruce Lee fashion.

"Yeesh, where's your off switch?" Raph questioned.

April took a deep breath, attempting to process this new information. Luckily, Casey sat down next to her to try and help.

"I don't understand." April expressed turning to Casey. "How do you know these guys Casey?"

"I told you." Casey explained. "These are Hisako's brothers."

"Her brothers?" April questioned. "These things are her brothers? There's no way Hisako could be related to those turtles. She a normal human."

At that moment, Splinter walked over.

"In the wise words of Phaedrus, 'Things are not always what they seem'."

April squealed, scrambling away and clinging to Casey. The teen immediately tried to calm his girlfriend.

"Whoa there." He told her. "Calm down. That's just Hisako's father, Master Splinter."

April's eyes were wide as she began hyperventilating again.

"Her brothers… are turtles… and her father… is a rat… Is there anything else I should know about?"

That's when Leatherhead walked into the room with a tray of tea.

"Her boyfriend is a crocodile."

"Yeah, and you two are human nerds." Raph interjected. "Now that we've got that out of the way-"

Before he could finish, April sagged in Casey's grasp, passing out again. He laid her back down on the couch before looking up at the turtles.

"Any of you got any smelling salts?"

…

Electricity flickered throughout the lab. The scientists were attempting to revive Hisako through the use of electric voltage. Unfortunately this was doing little more than waste electricity. She was still essentially brain dead.

"Still not working?!" one of the scientists exclaimed. "There's gotta be some way to wake her up."

"Raise the voltage." another scientist suggested.

"We can't," a third one interjected. "If we do, we risk losing her."

"Dr. Stockman is not going to accept this." the first scientist declared.

"I'm not going to accept what?"

The three scientist turned around to see Stockman standing behind them.

"Dr. Stockman!" the second scientist practically cried out.

"Status report." Stockman demanded. "Now!"

The first scientist stepped forward.

"We've attempted electrostimulation to restart her brain, but we've had no success." he explained. "Not as much as a blip on the brain activity monitor."

"We've continued increasing the voltage, but if he raise it any higher, we risk electrocuting her and killing her."

Stockman stroked his chin as he examined Hisako.

"Then perhaps it is time to try a different approach." he suggested. "Considering this coma is self-inflicted, then she must have a way to pull herself out of it. All we need to do is force her to come out."

He snapped his fingers and two men in black coats walked in. They were both wearing blue latex gloves and gave off an air of malice and sadism that rivaled even Stockman's.

"As long as you don't kill her or damage her mentally, she's all yours."

The two men smiled as they cracked their knuckles.

…

Inside Hisako's mind, the girl forced herself to stay down. Her entire body hurt and she could feel her suppressed fear trying to bubble up. Still, she knew she couldn't let go. She would never let them use her again.

_I know you'll come for me guys… please hurry._

…

April came around a second time, and this go around, everyone took it slow. Luckily, she seemed to be a bit more receptive to the idea of her friend living with mutants, especially after Casey explained Hisako's history.

"So Hisako's rough childhood was the result of her being used as a lab rat because of her ability to read minds. And these guys found her and took her in after she was rescued by… Leatherhead was it?"

The crocodile gave a single nod.

"Am I getting this right?" she asked.

"You've pretty much got it." Casey told her.

"Though when you say it out loud like that, it really does sound insane." Mikey commented.

"But what I don't understand is what this has to do with me, or Casey. Why bring us into this?"

"Because those people from her past are the ones that attacked the Pizzeria." Leo answered. "They took Hisako, and we're going to need your help to rescue her."

"My help?" April asked. "What can i do?"

"Those people who have our sister," Donnie explained. "They're TCRI."

April help up a hand.

"Wait. You're saying that your sister was held captive by TCRI? That's impossible. We're the Technological Research and Creations Institute."

"Yeah, we've seen the logo." Raph quipped.

"Then you know our research is fully technology based. We don't have any projects involving mind control or mutant animals."

Raph snorted, leaning against the wall.

"Ever heard of a front?" he asked. "TCRI is just a cover for Stockman's twisted Science experiments."

Now April was getting mad. She stood up, facing the red turtle.

"And now you're accusing Dr. Baxter Stockman of being some Dr. Frankenstein?"

Leatherhead excused himself from the room as Leo came forward.

"Look April, it's true. Stockman tortured Hisako for most of her childhood. She still has nightmares about him."

"No way. I refuse to believe you!"

"So wait, you're willing to believe Hisako is a telepath, and that her family is made up of mutants, but what you can't believe is the fact that your boss is evil?" Raph questioned. "Casey, your girlfriend is not the brightest lightbulb in the box."

"He's not evil!" April shouted. "That man has 18 patents, 5 PhDs and-"

"We've read his wiki page." Leo interjected, starting to get a bit annoyed with April. "And frankly, I don't care that he has a frikken Nobel Prize! That monster has my sister, so are you going to help us, or-"

"Leonardo!" Splinter interrupted.

Leo backed down, regaining his composure.

"Sorry Sensei." he muttered.

"We are all worried about Hisako." he said, playing a paw on his son's arm. "But we cannot fight amongst ourselves, for we will only succeed in doing our enemy's work for them."

April watched the exchange, still steamed about her boss being accused, but then Donnie had a suggestion.

"Hey April." he said, sliding onto the couch next to her.

"What, are you going to shout about how evil Stockman is too?"

"No." Donny replied, holding up his hand. "I'm just going to make a suggestion. If you're so sure Stockman isn't the good guy, then helping us break into TCRI would prove his innocence. We'd see he has nothing to hide, and would know to look elsewhere."

Mikey grinned as April seemed to be convinced by Donny's words.

"Like I said," the orange turtle whispered. "Technically, a genius."

The three remaining turtles fist bumped as Donny continued.

"All you need to do is help us get inside." he explained. "You do that, and you can prove you were right, or that we were right. Either way, the truth is revealed."

April mulled it over before sighing.

"Alright." she relented. "But I stand by my conviction that Stockman isn't evil."

Donny stood up.

"We'll let the facts speak for themselves." he concluded.

April stood up as the gang gathered around, Leatherhead returning as well.

"Can. We. Go. Now. Please?" Raph asked, his fists shaking with his sai in his hands.

…

April wasn't scheduled to come in until the next day, so this gave the turtles plenty of time to plan. After hacking into the City Hall records, the turtles managed to dig up the blueprints and floor plans of TCRI, allowing Donny to figure out the best way in.

"Alright," Donny said as he rolled out the large blueprint. "I've gone over the blueprints, and I have to say, Stockman has some serious state of the art security. Roof sensors, laser grids in the vent systems, and even motion detectors in the elevator shafts."

"Yeesh." Raph commented. "Are we breaking into TCRI, or Fort Knox?"

Ignoring Raph's comment, Leo looked at Donny.

"Tell me you have a plan"

"I do." The purple turtle replied. "All we need is for April to get into the security room and plant this bug in their system. It will disable the security system across the lab so we can get in. Once we get to April, we reactivate the system so we can find where they're keeping Hisako and bust her out.

"But what about the guys in the security room?" Mikey asked.

"I thought of that." Donny replied as he grabbed a small canister of what looked like a can of spray paint off his work table

"What's your plan?" Raph snorted. "Hit them in the eyes with spray paint?"

"Hey, that stuff hurts." Mikey countered, "Trust me."

Donny cleared his throat, drawing their attention.

"Actually, this isn't spray paint." he explained. "It's a pressurized chemical mixture that, once inhaled, will place whomever breathes it into a deep sleep."

Mikey began laughing.

"Bro, that is by far one of the craziest-"

Donny took the container, blasting Mikey in the face. The orange turtle's eyes rolled back as he collapsed on the ground. Raph looked at his sleeping brother, then at Donny.

"Where was that stuff years ago?" he questioned.

April took the spray, looking a bit apprehensive about using it.

"This won't hurt them, will it?"

"Not one bit." Donny promised. "They'll just be asleep for around four hours, meaning that's how long we'll have to find Hisako once we get in."

Still a bit worried, April tucked the can into her bag.

"Anything else?" She asked.

"The plan is simple." Leo interjected. "Go in, knock out the guards, we come in through the vents, then we search the cameras for any sign of Hisako."

"After that, we knock some skulls." Raph finished, punching his palm.

April gave a sigh, sagging onto the couch and clutching her head.

"I can't believe I'm actually agreeing to this..." she muttered, "This is crazy."

Splinter placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know that this is much to process, and I know that you still hold reservations about what you have learned. However, I must ask you to cast those uncertainties aside. My daughter's life depends on it."

April looked up at Splinter, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"I know… but just so you know, I'm only doing this to prove Stockman's not the criminal you all think he is."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Raph grunted. "Just don't go crying to us when you get proven wrong."

"As long as you guys don't come crying to me when I prove you're all wrong."

Raph snorted.

"Fine by me." he called as he walked off. "Now if any of you need me, I'm gonna be punching something until I can't feel my knuckles."

…

The next day, April walked through the doors of TCRI. She was so nervous that her entire body was strung tighter than a guitar string. She tugged at the strap of her purse, wringing the leather in her hands. Sweat poured down her brow as she tried to take deep breaths.

"You can do this April." she muttered. "Just stay calm."

"Miss O'Neil!"

April squeaked, jumping slightly as she turned towards the person that had called out to her. The doctor that had called her name looked at her in confusion.

"You alright Miss O'Neil?" he asked. "You look a bit pale."

April gulped, then tugged at the collar of her shirt.

"Sorry." she muttered, "Didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

The doctor just smiled.

"You'll get use to the late nights." The doctor told her. "Just give yourself some time."

April nodded quickly, then hurried off, desperate to get this over with. She got to the security office, her hand shaking as she reached for the knob. She hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"Get a grip." April hissed. "Just get a grip."

She grabbed the handle, turning it slowly and opening the door. Inside, she could see a pair of security guards watching the monitors closely. She entered, closing the door behind her and silently locking it. Putting on a fake smile, she stepped forward

"Hey Kevin!" she called. "Hey Peter!"

"Hey April!" the two called back.

"You guys just get on?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah just a little while ago." Kevin answered.

"And we're gonna be stuck here all night probably." Peter lamented. "And just when the Cubs finally made it to the World Series."

"Yeah and if they win, then Back to the Future would've been right!" Kevin noted with a smile.

"True," Peter replied. "Though they would have been off by a year."

As the two continued their talk, April came in close, Donny's aerosol can in her hand.

"So sorry." she whispered.

Closing her eyes and turning away, she sprayed the two guards in the face. One whiff of the spray, and the two of them sank into their seats, snoring like lions. April opened one eye, looking at the two cautiously before opening her other eye. She leaned closer, giving them an experimental poke before sighing in relief.

"It worked." she whispered.

She leaned against the console, just taking a few deep breaths before a voice suddenly spoke up in her ear.

"Umm, April?" Donny's voice called through the earpiece she'd been given. "The bug?"

April shot up, suddenly remembering the other half of her mission. She fumbled around in her bag before pulling out a flash drive shaped like a turtle shell. After placing it into the system, the screens were covered in code before they were dominated by a turtle symbol.

"Alright." she said. "System's down."

…

Outside, in a shadowy alley, Leo gave a thumbs up to the others.

"We're good." he whispered.

The turtles and Splinter all put on a set of climbing claws as Casey piggybacked on Raph's back. They began scaling the walls of TCRI.

"Man, we ought to leave the wall crawling to the guy in the red and blue tights." Mikey joked.

"Mikey, for once in your life, can you take anything seriously?" Raph asked irritated.

Splinter's tail came out and whacked both of them. He then shushed them both, reminding them that stealth was key. Once they reached the roof, Casey dismounted Raph's back as the ninjas shed their claws.

"Hey Leo," Mikey asked softly. "Why did we have to leave Leatherhead behind? I'm sure he could have scaled that wall easily."

"That may be true, but his sheer size and weight would have made stealth difficult." Leo explained.

"Yeah, that guy's about as stealthy as a monster truck in a china shop." Raph snorted.

Down in the sewers beneath TCRI, Leatherhead crossed his arms.

"You do realize that I am also wearing one of your communication devices, yes?" Leatherhead questioned.

Raph winced.

"It's true." he replied nervously.

"You do not need to argue your point." Leatherhead replied. "I will remain hidden lest stealth is set aside for brute force."

"We'll call you the second that happens." Leo promised, opening the vent for his companions. "Promise."

With that, the turtles, Casey, and Splinter all made their way through the vents into TCRI.

…

April paced around the security room, nervous as hell and questioning the sanity of what she was doing.

"This is insane." she muttered with every step. "This is insane. This is insane. This is insane."

There was a loud crash as Raph's fist punched through the grate covering the air vent. April squealed, jumping back as the team entered the room.

"Someone order a rescue party with extra keys?" Mikey jokingly asked landing on the ground.

"Did he really just say that?" Casey asked confused.

"Unfortunately." Raph responded groaning.

April struggled to regain composure as she approached the gang.

"How do you guys do this?" she asked exasperatedly. "I'm jumping at even the slightest noise!"

"Yeah, we noticed." Raph told her. "Donny, find our sister."

"On it."

The purple turtle tipped Peter out of his chair, taking it for himself and pulling the flash drive out of the terminal. The cameras and security system turned back on, allowing Donny full view. He cracked his knuckles and began typing. He searched each of the camera feeds, growing more and more confused with each passing frame.

"She's not here guys." He said after a moment. "I can't find her on any of the feeds."

"What?!" Everyone save for April exclaimed.

"Whaddya mean you can't find her?" Raph demanded.

"She's not on any of the cameras!" Donny replied. "I've searched every camera signal, and there's not as much as a trace of her!"

"But, there has to be!" Mikey cried out.

"See?!" April said, gesturing to the cameras triumphantly. "I told you! Hisako's not here! I told you Stockman wasn't evil, I told you TCRI wasn't some mad science lab, but did you believe me? Oh no!"

Raph turned to April angrily, fingers hovering over his weapons.

"You wanna shut up before I take this Sai and shove it up your-"

"Wait, is that Hun?" Mikey interrupted, gesturing to one of the computer screens.

Both Raph and April looked to the camera Mikey was pointing to, just in time to see a familiar wall of muscle making his way out of TCRI.

"It is Hun!" Leo said in shock.

"That's the guy who attacked the Pizzeria!" Casey added.

"That's Mr. Hun, the representative of TCRI's main financial backer."

Everyone looked at April in surprise.

"Financial backer?" Leo asked. "Who?"

April shrugged.

"I don't know." she replied. "He never comes personally. He always sends Hun, and Hun only refers to him as his boss. Although, one time I could have sworn he nearly called his boss 'master'. Weird huh?"

"Indeed." Splinter said with a small, contemplative nod.

"April, what does Hun do when he comes here?" Donny asked. "Where do they go?"

April thought for a moment.

"They go to Dr. Stockman's private lab. It's restricted to certain authorized personnel. He won't even allow security cameras in there."

The turtles all shared knowing looks.

"10 pizza boxes says that the private lab is the illegal genetics lab we're look for." Mikey quipped.

"I'll take a piece of that action." Raph replied.

April's eyes went wide.

"Wait, you guys are going in there?!" she exclaimed. "But how? The lab's on the six floor, surrounded by an army of guards and doctors, and you need an authorized keycard to even open the door, which, by the way, is enforced."

This stopped the turtles for a moment, at least until Raph got an idea.

"Hey April, still got some of that sleep stuff?" he asked.

April blinked, then handed over the can. Raph gave it an experimental shake and smiled.

"This'll do just fine." he remarked, tossing the can and catching it.

…

On the sixth floor, doctors and guards milled about, doing their daily routine. As they did, an air grate that opened up to the middle of the room began to shake slightly. The cover came loose, nearly falling to the ground, but was quickly caught by a green hand. The cover was pulled into the vent, then the green hand returned, holding the aerosol can and a Sai.

"Nighty-night." Raph whispered.

He stabbed the can, quickly dropping it on the ground as the gas filled the room. All it took was one whiff and the staff all fell, each and every one of them fast asleep.

Raph waited for the gas to dissipate, then he jumped down onto the ground, recovering his weapon.

"They're out!" he called.

His brothers, Master Splinter, and finally April and Casey came sliding out of the vents. Casey managed to roll to his feet, but April had to be caught by Splinter. He set her down, gesturing for her to lead the way. They walked past several small labs of doctors out cold, using textbooks and half-finished projects as pillows.

"Man, I'm glad we didn't have to break into an unstable chemical lab." Mikey commented. "That would have been seriously messy."

"Over there." April said with a point. "That's the door to Stockman's private lab."

Donny went and examined the door, whistling as he did.

"If he's not hiding something back here, I'd be really surprised. This door is reinforced titanium, and from the rivets in the metal, I'd say we're looking at an electronically controlled pneumatic seal."

"English, Pointdexter." Casey interrupted.

"I knew I liked you, kid." Raph commented.

"Who you calling kid?" Casey asked. "I'm probably older than you."

Donny let out a cough, drawing their attention again.

"Like I was saying, this door is sealed tight. We'll need to find a working key."

"Then perhaps we should start with the doctors on this floor." Splinter suggested.

"Great idea Sensei." Leo agreed. "Everybody fan out, grab any key cards you can find."

Everybody spread out, accosting doctors and guards alike to get into the door.

…

Stockman watched with a childish glee as The Master's 'information gatherers' (read torturers) attempted to bring Project Oracle out of her coma. While their efforts were fruitless, it was still entertaining to watch.

"Dr. Stockman!" One of his security officers called out.

With a sigh, Stockman turned away from Oracle's cell in order to face the oncoming officer.

"What is it?" he asked annoyed.

"There have been numerous unauthorized attempts to access the lab's entrance."

Stockman raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" he asked.

"Yes, and when I tried to access the security cameras to see who it was, I couldn't get in."

Now Stockman was intrigued. He began walking towards the lab's private security booth, the guard hot on his heels. As he entered the booth, he saw that the computers to access the upper labs were now covered in streams of data, almost like a homemade firewall attempting to keep them out.

"It would seem that we have uninvited guests, ones with extensive knowledge of codes and-"

He paused for a moment, realization dawning.

"I think I may know who our intruders are."

He began typing away at the code, destroying it with relative ease as he regained control of the system. As the cameras came back online, he brought the camera outside of the doorway onto the big screen.

"I knew it." He said with an evil chuckle. "The four turtles have come for their sister."

On the screen, Donatello was kneeling before the card swiper, testing the different cards that his brothers were handing him and tossing them aside when they failed. Stockman then squinted as he noticed three other figures amongst them.

"A large mutant _rattus rattus_." he mused. "From his posture, he is obviously the true leader of the group, perhaps a sort of fatherly figure. Maybe he was the one who taught the turtles their martial arts."

"But what about the two kids?" The security officer asked.

Stockman looked at them, mildly surprised.

"Miss O'Neil." he said in surprise. "She is acquainted with these creatures? I must say that is unexpected, but it answers the question of who the boy is. He's obviously that Casey Jones character that she has mentioned in the past."

"Isn't that also the name of the kid who Hun sent to tell the turtles?" The officer asked.

Stockman nodded.

"How nice of him to come along for the ride. It makes tying up loose ends so much easier." He let out a small sigh. "If only they had brought Project Leatherhead with them."

He turned away from the camera, approaching the computer for the private lab. He typed in a passcode, a sadistic smile on his face.

"Let's welcome our new guests properly."

…

"Nope… Nope… Nope…"

Donny had just about gone through all of the key cards the group had collected, and still the door remained sealed. With every nope that came out of Donny's mouth, Raph got more and more agitated.

"Argh!" he screamed, punching the door as hard as he could. "Why isn't this working?! Open already!"

He began to try and pry the doors, and when he did, the card slider turned green, despite Donny not swiping a card yet. The doors suddenly hisses open and Raph fell through, landing flat on his face.

"Hey, it worked!" Mikey cheered. "We should let Raph go on a rage more often."

Everyone stepped over Raph as the red turtle regained his composure. As they all looked around, they appeared to be in a large elevator. There were two buttons on the console, one that said BL, and another that said UL. BL was the one on the bottom, so Casey gave it a push. As the doors closed, they all stood there, waiting for the elevator to move.

"Umm, guys?" April questioned. "Shouldn't we be moving?"

That's when the floor of the elevator suddenly retracted, sending the seven of them plummeting into the elevator shaft. Below them, they could see what looked like some sort of body of water waiting to catch them. They landed with a symphony of splashes, all of them immediately swimming for the surface.

"Is everyone alright?" Leo called.

"I'm good!" Mikey called.

"I'm here!" Donny added.

"Casey here!"

"April too!"

"I am alright, my sons."

Raph was the last to break the surface, and he was pissed.

"That lousy piece of sewer scum!" Raph shouted. "When I get my hands on that Stockman guy, I'm gonna wring his-"

April suddenly screamed.

"Something just brushed up against my leg!"

Mikey suddenly jumped a bit in the water.

"I felt it too!"

Everyone was suddenly on edge.

"We're not alone in here." Donny realized.

Raph, still fuming with anger, just snorted.

"Whatever it is, let me at 'em!" he told them. "I can take on anything this Stockman guy throws at-"

Before he could finish his promise, a webbed, pinkish set of hands came out of the water, grabbing Raph by his shoulders and dragging him beneath the surface of the water.

"Raph!" the turtles screamed, diving under the water to help their brother.

…

Watching from the security booth, Stockman laughed as the turtles disappeared beneath the surface.

"It is moments like these when I am reminded that the cost of moving Project Fishface's tank into that chamber beneath the elevator shaft was worth it."

The security guard watched the camera, a bit wary about the possible outcomes.

"Dr. Stockman, what if those creatures somehow escape from Fishface?"

Stockman just snorted.

"That is highly unlikely." he replied. "I have watched dozens of potential intruders meet their demise at the hands, or should I say teeth, of Project Fishface."

…

Down in the tank, Raph was struggling as Fishface dragged the red turtle down lower and lower into the tank. As they continued their rapid descent, the mutant fish kept trying to take a bite out of him. Raph was using one hand to push against Fishface's neck, keeping him from eating him, and the other was reaching for his Sai. Once he pulled it out, he stabbed Fishface in the shoulder, causing it to cry out in pain and let Raph go. He then swam as fast as he could towards the surface, meeting up with his brothers along the way. Once they reached the surface, they all began gasping for air.

"Raph!" Mikey cried out as they swam towards him.

"What happened?" Leo asked.

"There is something down there." Raph told them. "And it ain't friendly."

Just as Raph finished that, Fishface came back up and actually jumped out of the water, coming back down and tackling Leo. The force of the attack sent them both back under the water.

"What the Shell was that?!" Mikey asked, completely freaked out.

"It appears to be a mutated version of a _Lophius Piscatorius_!" Donny replied, searching the water for any sign of the two of them.

"English Don!" Raph screamed.

"It's an Anglerfish." Donny clarified. "One of the deadliest fish in the sea."

"Fascinating." Mikey commented. "While you prepare a lecture, I'm gonna go save my brother!"

With that, Mikey dove in after Leo. Donnie and Raph followed shortly after.

Below the surface, Leo was wrestling with Fishface and having a hard keeping it away. Eventually, Fishface managed to sink his teeth into Leo's shoulder, causing the blue turtle to cry out in pain. This unfortunately let what little air he had leave his lungs, making way for the salty water of the tank.

Just then, Mikey came in, giving a good kick to Fishface's head. The mutant fish released Leo, allowing for Donny and Raph to pursue it while Mikey got Leo to the surface for air.

As the orange turtle broke the surface of the water, Leo began coughing and hacking up a surprising amount of water. After he finally stopped wheezing, he looked at his brother in relief.

"Thanks Mikey." Leo said graciously.

The water's surface rippled as Donny and Raph continued their battle with Fishface, Donny currently trying to get a strong enough swing under water to do some damage.

"This thing is kicking out shells." Mikey noted.

"Well what do you expect?" Leo replied. "We're in its element."

"Where's Jaws when you need him?" Mikey lamented.

This gave Leo an idea.

"Michelangelo, that's a brilliant idea." he said putting his hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"It is?" Mikey questioned.

Just then, Fishface came up at breakneck speed, plowing right into Mikey. Fishface then rammed him right into one of the walls. The orange turtle rebounded hard, then started to sink beneath the water.

"Michelangelo!" Splinter, whom had been keeping April and Casey out of the fight, called out.

While the turtles could hold their breath for extended periods of time, 30 minutes from Donny's tests, they were freshwater turtles, and this was salt water.

"Sensei!" Leo called out swimming towards Mikey. "I got Mikey, call plan B!"

Splinter nodded and reached for a small device on his belt that was, surprisingly, still functional.

...

Meanwhile, Leatherhead was sitting quietly in the sewers. Suddenly he heard a noise emanating from the shell cell he'd been given. He looked at it and saw a small red blinking dot on the screen. Leonardo had instructed him that if this should happen, they were in trouble, and that he should follow the sewer pipes leading towards the dots location.

Remembering Donatello's note that he could identify his own position by a moving green dot, Leatherhead ran down the tunnels, watching as he closed in on his ally's position. He made a right turn, then two lefts until he came to a small junction. According to the cell, he was right in front of his friends.

"There you are." He snarled, his eyes glowing bright red.

…

Meanwhile, the turtles were having no luck with Fishface. Donny was on top of it, his Bo staff in the mutant's mouth as he gripped onto either side like some demented cowboy trying to ride it. Fishface kept thrashing around, diving in and out of the water in an attempt to throw its would-be rider off. When that proved useless, Fishface charged forward, aiming at one of the walls with great speed. Then as it seemed they would run into it, Fishface suddenly stopped, throwing Donny off.

Mikey swam up to the monster and tried to hit him with his nunchuks while he was above water, but the ever agile Anglerfish quickly dove back under, causing Mikey to hit the surface of the water. Fishface then quickly swam away from Mikey, turned around, and swam back towards the orange turtle as fast as it could. It rammed into him, sending him flying through the air and crashing into a wall.

Raph and Leo swam up from under Fishface, hoping to tag team him. Fishface noticed them and dove back under the water, heading right towards them. It rammed right into Leo, sending the blue turtle spinning through the water. Before Raph could react, it grabbed him by the shoulders again, shoving him against a wall.

"Time... to... eat..." Fishface said in a gurgled voice that didn't sound like anything remotely human.

At that very moment, Leatherhead burst through the wall above the pool, diving into the water without a second's hesitation. Seeing Fishface's hold on Raph, Leatherhead's eyes began glowing even brighter as he charged. Fishface looked at this new opponent, immediately recognizing him as bigger prey and a bigger meal. The monster then released Raph, tossing him aside as it charged toward Leatherhead as well. As the two beasts wrestled, Raph swam towards the surface, snagging Leo on his way up. Once they hit air again, they joined their brothers and friends near the edge of the pool.

"You two ok Raph?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah bro, we're good." Raph reassured.

"Especially now that the cavalry's shown up." Leo added.

Just then, the water below them started swirling. Through the murky water, the seven of them could see Leatherhead taking a massive bite out of Fishface, causing the Anglerfish to cry out in pain. Then the water turned a thick shade of red. The group got as far away from the bloody water as they could, Mikey shivering at the sight.

"I'll never be clean again." Mikey said.

"We live in the sewers Mikey." Raph reminded. "Our definition of clean was sketchy to begin with."

Leatherhead then broke the surface, letting out a satisfied belch as he did. He covered his mouth in surprise, the glow from his eyes fading.

"Sorry." he told them.

For a moment, they just floated there, awkwardly trying to process what had just happened. Finally, Casey spoke up.

"So… What now?" he asked.

"Now, we climb." Leo supplied.

The ninjas all reapplied their climbing claws, Casey grabbing hold of Raph as Donny took April. One by one, they began climbing up the wall of the elevator shaft. Once they reached the elevator's door, Leatherhead pried them open with ease. He got out of the elevator, then pulled the turtles up one by one, followed finally by Master Splinter.

"Finally, we made it." Leo said with a sigh.

"Now we can find Hisako and get the shell outta-" Raph began.

The doors to the elevator suddenly slammed shut, surprising the group. Before any of them could question why, they heard an eerie slow clap coming towards them. Turning back towards the lab, they saw Dr. Baxter Stockman turn a corner, smiling maliciously with every step.

"Welcome to TCRI, turtles."


	12. Mutant Mayhem

The four turtles, Master Splinter, Leatherhead, Casey, and April all watched in a mixture of fear, horror, and anger as Dr. Baxter Stockman came walking towards them, slow clapping like some evil villain from a cartoon. The turtles all drew their weapons, but stayed where they were, wary of a possible trap.

"I must congratulate you on your successful defeat of Project Fishface." Stockman told them, his voice coated with sarcasm and malicious intent. "You're the first of many to survive."

"Oh yeah?" Raph taunted, "Well our pal Leatherhead made filets out of your little pet."

"No matter," Stockmen replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I have an entire tank of anglerfish just waiting to be mutated. What I don't have though, are mutant turtles, or a mutant rat."

Stockman then chuckled, lightly conking himself on the head.

"Oh silly me, of course I do." he said with a smile. "I have you."

"We ain't gonna be your science experiments Stockman!" Raph shouted, stepping closer with his Sai twirling in his fingers. "We're here to get our sister back!"

"Sister?" Stockman asked, feigning confusion. "I only have records of four mutant turtles."

"She's a human." Donny corrected, spinning his Bo staff before pointing it at the evil doctor. "A very special human, and we want her back!"

Stockman snapped his fingers as if remembering.

"Oh!" he replied. "You mean Project Oracle! I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let her leave."

Mikey laughed, spinning his nunchuks slightly before tucking them under his arms.

"You sound like we're giving you a choice." He retorted.

"Give us our sister, before things get ugly." Leo threatened, pointing one of his swords at Stockman.

Stockman fished into his lab coat, pulling out a small remote.

"Too late for that, turtles."

He pressed down on a large red button and the group heard a loud chorus of doors unlatching and opening. Down the hallway behind Stockman, they could see a line of what they could only guess were holding cells opening, allowing a tidal wave of large, mutant monsters to come barreling out. These new monsters stopped directly behind Dr. Stockman, all of them crouched on all fours and snarling.

"Turtles, meet Project Dogpound, my personal guard dog army."

Everyone took a step back, Splinter putting himself between Casey and April and the mutant dogs. Leo looked at Donny, nervousness etched in his face.

"Donny, what are we looking at?" he asked.

"Pitbulls, Rottweilers, Akitas, German Shepard… basically we're looking at a culmination of the deadliest dog breeds known to man." Donny explained with a gulp. "And that was before Stockman mutated them!"

"Well it's a good thing we ain't men." Raph quipped.

Stockman smirked.

"So be it."

He let out a whistle, then pointed at the turtles. The mutant dogs all rushed forward, fangs bared and claws out. The turtles charged forward as well. Finally the two sides clash. Stockman then took the opportunity to slip away from the action unnoticed.

Raph bashed one dog on the head with the blunt head of his Sai before stabbing into the chest of another one. A third tried tackling him, but Raph just picked it up and threw it into the sea of mutant dogs.

Leo wasn't doing much better. After dispatching one dog, he quickly turned around and kicked one coming up from behind him. As he brought his swords up to block the attack of another killer canine, he turned to see Donny swatting away dogs like flies with his staff.

"Donny," Leo called out pushing the dog off his swords. "We can handle the dogs! Get to a security console! Find Hisako!"

"On it!" Donny called back.

He then pole vaulted over the seemingly endless onslaught of dogs, taking off towards another part of the lab the second his feet hit the ground. As he disappeared around the corner, his brothers were left to deal with the mutant dogs.

Mikey kept bashing every dog that came close to him with his Nunchucks. Suddenly, a dog tackled Mikey to the ground, snapping at the orange turtle over and over. Fortunately, he was able to hold back the dog's teeth with the chains of his Nunchucks.

"Nice Doggy." Mikey said nervously. "I can find a bone for you if you don't eat me."

The dog kept trying to attack, ignoring Mikey's words. Just then, a Sai went straight into the dog's head, killing it. Its dead form collapsed on Mikey, who quickly pushed it off as Raph came up.

"Careful," Raph said extending his hand to his brother. "Or you'll give him all the bones he could ever want."

Mikey took his hand and Raph pulled him to his feet.

"Thanks bro." Mikey said.

"Don't mention it." Raph responded spinning his weapons. "Now let's end this."

Mikey nodded before the two rushed forward weapons drawn.

Leatherhead meanwhile had no difficulty tossing aside one attack dog after another. One dog was able to attack him from behind and bite into his shoulder. This enraged Leatherhead as he cried out in pain. He then grabbed the dog and threw him to the ground, then lunged at him taking a bite out of it. Mikey looked over in disgust.

"I don't think we have to worry about feeding Leatherhead for a while." Mikey quipped.

"Less joking! More fighting!" Raph called out as he bashed another dog.

Splinter was quick to bash away every dog that should dare try and attack him. He also tried to keep April and Casey behind him, unwilling to let them get hurt.

"You two find a place to hide and bar yourselves in." Splinter instructed, knocking a dog away with his tail. "I do not know how much longer I can hold them off."

"Hey. If you think I'm gonna sit this fight out, you got another thing coming." Casey retorted, pulling his hockey mask down over his face.

He then charged forward towards the mutant dog army, pulling a hockey stick out of his bag.

"Goongala!" he shouted as he came down on the dogs

As he bashed dog after dog, April ran down an adjacent hallway, away from the battle. She kept running, unwilling to look back and unable to process what she had seen. She just prayed that she would be able to find something, anything that would help her make sense of all this madness.

….

Donatello continued though the lab, looking for anything that resembled a security booth or a server room. He managed to find a door marked Personnel only, and quickly kicked it down.

"Come on Donatello." He muttered, scanning the different doors of the new hallway he'd found. "Everyone's counting on you."

He pulled open the first door to find what looked like a lounge for an entire swarm of guards. They all paused what they were doing, looking over at the purple turtle.

"Whoops." he winced. "Hehe… sorry guys… Carry on."

The guards attempted to swarm the door, but Donny quickly slammed it shut. For added measure, he smashed the door knob. He could hear the guards attempting to free themselves, but it seemed even the break room doors were reinforced.

"Okay, wrong room." he told himself. "Next one?"

He went to the next door, opening it to see a bathroom. Luckily, it was unoccupied.

"Nope." he said as he closed the door again. "Come on… where is it?"

He opened the third door, and grinned when he saw the rows of security cameras and computer terminals.

"Bingo."

He walked in, sneaking up on the sole guard, whose attention was currently held by the fight going on with his brothers and the mutant mutts. He tapped the guy on the shoulder.

"Excuse me." he said. "That's my seat."

The guy turned, only to get a face-full of Bo staff as Donny knocked him out of his chair. After bringing his staff down a second time for good measure, Donny took a seat and produced that same drive April had used before.

"Turtle Hacker, don't fail me."

He jammed it in the computer and the screen became a flood of green text as he broke through the system. After about a minute, there was a small ding and Donny smiled.

"Hang on Hisako." Don whispered as he cracked his knuckles. "We're coming."

…

Leo pulled his sword out of the last attack dog as his brothers came over to him.

"That's the last one right?" Mikey asked. "Please tell me that was the last one?"

"Yeah," Leo answered. "That was the last one."

"Congratulations." they heard Stockman say over an intercom. "You've managed to survive against Project Dogpound. It's going to take me months to collect that many dogs again. Even more to train them."

"Does this mean you're giving up now?" Raph asked.

"Hardly." Stockman responded. "I have plenty of other projects to deal with you. Project Tusks! Project Horns!"

With that, the hallway was filled with the sound of two more cells opening. From one emerged a large, fat reddish creature with bristling hair that almost seemed to look like a Mohawk. When it faced the group, they saw that it had a strange snout, almost like that of a pig, and had two sets of strange tusks. Two seemed to be coming out from under the thing's nose, while the other two seemed to be jutting out from the thing's jaw.

"What is that thing?!" Mikey asked with a terrified gulp.

"I think it's a mutant warthog!" Leo replied, equally frightened.

"Then what does that make his friend?" Raph added.

That's when the second figure emerged. This one was grey, with thick limbs that rivaled even Leatherheads, though the muscled almost seemed to resemble armor plates. Its upper lip seemed to droop down slightly over its mouth, its nose dominated by a large horn.

"It's a rhino!" Casey exclaimed.

"Where the shell did Stockman get a Rhino and a warthog?!" Mikey cringed. "EBay?!"

Raph took a moment to glare at the orange turtle.

"You know, if we weren't about to get pummeled by two mutant monsters, I'd clobber you."

"These two may not be my brightest creations, but they get the job done." Stockman told them. "Finish them!"

The Rhino, obviously Horns, scuffed his feet against the ground.

"No hard feelings, eh?" he asked. "We ain't got nothing against ya."

"Yeah!" The warthog, Tusks, added, also scuffing his feet. "We hate Stockman just as much as you."

"Then why fight us?" Leo asked, stowing his swords. "We can help you guys get out of here."

Horns snorted.

"I doubt it." he said. "Ya don't think we've tried."

"Hell, yer friend Leatherhead there escaped twice, and yet here he is again." Tusks added, tapping a strange metal collar that adorned his, and Horns' neck. "Besides, we try anything and these necklaces here will go-"

Before he could finish, blue electricity danced across the warthog's body. He let out a pig-like squeal of pain as he fell to his knees. Horns helped him to his feet as Stockman's voice came on the intercom again.

"Enough chattering, lest you wish to become the next 'volunteer' for the genetic splicer."

Both Horns and Tusks shivered, and from the way Leatherhead started quaking, it was obvious that this was not an idle threat.

"Like I said." Horns muttered. "Ain't got nothing against you, but you gotta go."

With that Horns and Tusks charged towards the turtles. Tusks picked up Mikey, spun him around for a bit, and then threw him into a wall. Mikey slowly picked himself up, nursing his aching head. He regained composer just in time to see Tusks charging towards him. Mikey then dove out of the way as Tusks collided with the wall.

Horns tried to smash Raph into the ground, but the red turtle was quick enough to leap out of the way. Once he landed, he unloaded a series of punches at Horns stomach, the Rhino just looking at him with pity as he did.

"Will! You! Just! Fall! Down!" Raph cried out.

This didn't faze Horns at all, and just slapped him away causing him to crash into a wall. While Horns turned to face Raph, Leo leaped up from behind him and tried to slice the collar around his neck. However, his swords didn't even scratch the metal, these collars obviously more sturdy than the one Leatherhead had been wearing. Horns turned around to see Leo standing there and attempted to smash him. Luckily, Leo quickly rolled out of the way, looking at the rhino.

"Will you stop trying to kill us?!" Leo shouted. "We're trying to help you!"

"Sorry." Horns apologized, getting into a crude fighting stance. "But it's just something we gotta do."

Before Horns could continue, Leatherhead tackled him to the ground. Horns and Leatherhead wrestled with each other, trying to pin the other down.

"Get away from my friends!" Leatherhead shouted before shoving Horns off.

As Leatherhead got up, Horns got to his feet as well and the two charged at each other once more. The two locked arms and tried to bring the other down to the ground.

"Come on Donny." Leo muttered as he prepared to leap back into the fray. "Hurry up!"

….

Donny scoured through file after file on the security network, trying to find even the slightest trace of his sister. He'd found an archive of old experiments dating back to the early 90's, and as he went through them, the purple turtle found himself getting sick to his stomach.

"Project Dirtbag… Project Overdrive… Project Quarry… Just how many innocent animals and people did Baxter Stockman mutate?"

Looking at the list, Donny was horrified to see that Stockman had over 123 different mutant experiments on file, not including all of the individual mutants under Project Dogpound. Still, even amongst these files, Donny couldn't find a trace of his sister.

"Come on Stockman, where did you hide my sister's files?"

As he went down the list, he spotted a subfolder for Other Projects. On a whim, Donny clicked it, and found two separate files. The first was simply labeled 'Specimen 051984', and the second was labeled Project Oracle.

"Found it."

Donny opened the file, finding an entire slew of what looked like video logs, dating back to 2002. Donny didn't know if it was morbid curiosity, or if he just needed to know exactly what his sister had gone through, but the purple turtle selected the Play All button.

On the screen, Doctor Stockman appeared. He seemed much younger than he was now, approximately 14 years younger if Donny had to wager a guess.

"**Stockman private archives, date December 2nd, 2002.**" Stockman narrated off screen. "**The Master has brought me a unique specimen to analyze.**"

The camera focused in on an unconscious girl with sandy blonde hair pulled into pigtails, wearing a dirty pair of overalls and a stained t-shirt underneath, obviously Hisako as a child. Donny gasped, surprised at how small and fragile she looked. He placed his hand against the screen, wanting so much to reach through the video and take her from this place before any of the horrible things Stockman had planned for her ever occurred.

"**Approximately three years of age, the subject is a human female that seems to be in the 95th percentile for physical growth. However, this is not why she was brought to me.**"

The camera panned to what looked like an early MRI scan of Hisako's brain.

"**According to The Master, this child possesses an innate ability to read mind, project mental images, and even manipulate another person's brainwave frequencies. He has tasked me with unlocking all of the secrets of this girl's power, and finding a way to harness her abilities for the ultimate plan. I think I shall call this study Project Oracle.**"

The screen went static before switching to the next video. The security guard attempted to get up as it did, only to be knocked back down again by Donnie's Bo staff.

"**Year 1 into Project Oracle.**" Stockman's voice narrated. "**The subject is now approximately four years of age, and yet, despite her young age, she continues to try and resist. She continues to insist that her 'Momma and Daddy' will find her and that they will 'blow this place to Pluto'.**"

Donny's fists clenched at Stockman's mocking and condescending attitude.

"**I have continually told her of her parents' demise at the hands of my master, but she refuses to believe me. Perhaps after I show her the footage of their slaughter at his hands, she'll finally realize that nobody knows she exists anymore.**"

The static returned and Donny felt like Raph had used him for a punching bag. Stockman hadn't just tortured Hisako physically, he'd tortured her mentally too, making her believe she was alone.

"There's a special place in hell for scum bags like you, Stockman."

"**Year 4 into Project Oracle. The subject is now approximately seven years of age and her mental capabilities continue to grow. Unfortunately, with her sudden growth of power, she has developed a nasty habit of projecting a menagerie of red images on the staff. Many of the guards in charge of the S-Wing have had to be terminated due to a sudden onset of madness, and I've lost 17 different doctors to a persistent vegetative state. Luckily, I have recently developed a new way of disciplining Oracle into curbing her mental abilities for more constructive uses.**"

The screen shifted as the camera seemed to be put on a tripod, focusing on 7-year old Hisako. Donny gasped at the sight, the wood of his staff creaking in his grasp he was gripping it so hard. She was pale, sweaty, and had electrodes stuck all over her head. Some of them were attached to machines while others just seemed to be sticking there. Donny had a sinking suspicion why.

"**Test one of the new disciple system.**"

There was a small click, like someone pressing a button on a remote. All of a sudden, Hisako just began screaming. As she did, Stockman just seemed to chuckle.

"**This machine affects the pain censors of her brain, turning them on and making her feel like she's in excruciating pain when, technically, there is none. While actual physical punishments might still be in order, I do believe this test has proven successful.**"

Donny felt sick. As the screen devolved into static, the purple turtle scrambled for a trash can, throwing up violently as the images of Hisako screaming continued to haunt his vision. He'd thought he'd seen all of the horrors Hisako had experienced through her nightmares and through her Red Images.

He was so wrong it wasn't even remotely funny.

Stockman's voice came back on the screen, returning Donny's focus back to the footage.

"**Year 7 of Project Oracle. Attempts to recreate a subject displaying even remotely similar powers to Oracle has proven… impossible. After 7 years of intense study of her, the origin of her powers continues to elude me. Even a complete DNA deconstruction has proven fruitless in unlocking the secret of her power. I've contemplated dissecting her brain, but the parable of the goose who laid the golden egg prevents me from doing so. Still, even if I cannot create more of her doesn't mean I can't make use of her. After all, a weapon that is one of a kind is unlikely to have a proper defense.**"

Static once more, then the next video played.

"**Year 8 of Project Oracle. The Master has provided me with a mission perfect for Oracle's power. His ongoing search has become impossible by conventional means, even with that simpleton Hun's connections to the criminal underworld. Thus, I have developed a machine that can amplify Project Oracle's telepathic abilities on a city-wide scale. More than that, with some minor calibrations, I should be able to focus her energies onto the specific signatures The Master is looking for. While the machine does seem to cause Oracle some physical and mental anguish, it is but a minor annoyance.**"

There were only two videos left to watch, but Donny didn't know if he could take much more. He knew he would need to watch them to get any clues as to where Hisako was. So far, all he had was S-Wing, but he instinctively knew he'd need more before he could go back to his brothers.

So, with a hesitant gulp, he settled in for the next one.

"**Year 10 of Project Oracle. There has been an incident involving one of my Mutation experiments, specifically Project Leatherhead. The behemoth escaped, destroying most of the S-Wing and eradicating a total of 42 different mutation projects. It even went as far as to destroy the only container of Specimen 051985 that I kept at this facility. However, it also made off with Project Oracle. Teams were sent to retrieve them, and though Leatherhead was successfully recaptured, it would seem that he destroyed Project Oracle as a final act of defiance. The Master is… quite displeased with this development and has ordered to reattempt to build an Oracle 2.0. I fear that this may be the end of the project.**"

Donny couldn't help but smile, finding no small amount of pleasure from Stockman's belief that he had failed. The final video began to play, and it was obvious that it was recent.

"**This is a momentous day for TCRI. Previously believed to have been destroyed, Project Oracle is alive and well. More than that, her mental prowess has increased exponentially in her four year absence. Now, she is back where she belongs, safely locked away in her old S-Wing suite.**"

The camera panned the right, showing a view on Hisako from outside of the 'suite'. Donny practically jumped out of the chair when he saw men in black suits and hospital gloves looming over her. The tools they had in their hands could only be described as torture devices. The camera panned again, showing Stockman's face for the first time in the video logs.

"**I take no small amount of pleasure when I say this: Project Oracle is back on schedule!**"

Donny was two seconds away from busting the screen when he noticed something in the background. There was a cell directly behind Stockman, but it was completely dark. This allowed for a reflection to appear in the dark glass. Right next to Stockman's ear, Donny could make out a small, blurring rectangle, most likely a room number like in a hospital.

"Please work, please work." he muttered as he began typing away.

The purple turtle zoomed in on the small rectangle, enhancing the footage and flipping it. When the process was finished, Donny was staring at a plaque that read S-23.

"Found you."

…

Leo collided with a wall after being tossed into it by Tusks. He regained his composure as Mikey came flying towards him. He rolled out of the way just second before Mikey made contact. Climbing to his feet, the blue turtle offered his brother a hand.

"This is ridiculous!" Mikey shouted, getting back up. "How are we gonna beat these guys?!"

They both ducked in order to avoid the body one of the mutant dogs being hurtled at them.

"I'm open to suggestions." Leo answered back, running to face Tusks.

Mikey thought for a moment, thinking back to all of the comic books he'd read and the superhero shows he watched. Whenever the good guys dealt with an enemy that was too strong to beat, they always tried to trap them somehow. Looking at the cells that Horns and Tusks had come from, Mikey had an idea.

"Hey Leo! Remember that Batman tv show we use to watch on Saturdays?"

"Now is not the time for nostalgia Mikey!" Raph shouted, him and Leo barely holding Tusks back.

"Remember when he dealt with Bane and Croc after they broke out of Arkham?" Mikey continued unfazed. "He lured them into the maximum security wing-"

"And tricked them into going back into their cages!" Leo finished.

"Mikey, I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's not a bad idea." Raph complimented. "Come on!"

The three ran towards Tusks. Tusks managed to get ahold of Raph, where he tried to crush the red turtle. Mikey leaped on top of the warthog's head and hit him with his Nunchuks over and over again. This caused Tusks to drop Raph, grabbing his head in pain. Mikey jumped off seconds before Tusk's hands crushed him, flipping in the air to land near Raph.

"Thanks Bro." Raph said.

"We need to get these guy back in their cells." Mikey instructed. "Stockman probably rigged them to hold anything those guys can throw at them."

Raph looked at the cage near Tusks and got an idea.

"Hey Pumbaa!" Raph called out, getting Tusks attention. "Come and get some you walking rump roast!"

Enraged, Tusks ran over to him, but Raph was quick enough to leap out of the way. Tusks turned to see Raph standing in front of the cage. Raph gave a "come on" gesture with one hand, the other brandishing his weapon. Tusks then charges at him full speed as Raph waited. As the two came close to impacting, Raph slid under Tusks, sticking his tongue out as he disappeared from sight. Tusks looks back as Raph got up, only to run face first into the wall of his cell. The large warthog slid to the ground as Mikey slammed the door shut and Leo reduced the cages control server to scrap with his sword.

"One down, one to go."

Horns was still wrestling with Leatherhead, along with Splinter and Casey. While the croc dealt with most of the fighting, Splinter and Casey did their best to provide distractions for the rhino, jabbing at his sides with judo chops and hockey sticks alike.

"Leatherhead!" Leo shouted. "Bring him this way!"

Leatherhead complied and started pushing Horns towards the cage. Each step harder than the last as Horns kept trying to resist.

"Give up croc breath!" Horns taunted. "You'll never beat me."

This enraged Leatherhead as he continued to push forward. Leo took note of this.

"Mikey, I need you to do what you do best."

"Leo, I don't think this is the time for a pizza eating contest."

"Not that, shell-for-brains!" Raph snapped. "Go make Leatherhead mad!"

Mikey nodded, then jumped in the air, propping himself by the door of Horns' cell.

"Hey Leatherhead!" He shouted. "I thought you wanted to save Hisako! If that's true, then why can't you beat one rhino?!"

Leatherhead's eyes began to glow brightly as Horns began to slide across the ground towards his cell.

"I mean, come on! You tossed us around like ragdolls a few days ago, and yet you can barely hold your own against one opponent! Some savior! No wonder you had to hide Hisako in a dumpster for us to find her!"

That was the final straw. Leatherhead ceased pushing, which caused Horns to stumble forward with all the forward momentum he had. Leatherhead used this to pick the rhino up over his head, tossing him into the ground where he slashed at his face several times. Horns tried to cover himself, but Leatherhead just picked up Horns again, this time by the throat, and threw him right into the cell. Leo was quick to close it and Mikey made short work of the control server.

"Way to go LH." Mikey called out.

Leatherhead turned towards Mikey, eyes still glowing as he stalked toward him. Mikey gulped and began slowly backing away.

"Um, you do know I didn't mean a single thing I said, right?" he asked nervously. "I was just trying to help you… umm… hulk out?"

Leatherhead raised a hand and Mikey flinched, awaiting a painful blow. However, the croc just patted Mikey on the head, the glow from his eyes gone.

"I thank you, my friend." he said with a knowing smile.

Mikey looked up at Leatherhead's hand as it ruffled his hair, then let out a large sigh of relief. It was then that Donny reappeared, practically barreling around the corner.

"Guys, I think I found-"

When he saw all of the dead dogs, the two trapped mutants, and Leatherhead's hand still on Mikey's head, he paused.

"Wow… what did I miss?"

"It is a long story, my son." Splinter interrupted. "Did you find your sister?"

Donny's face lost any emotion.

"Yeah, I found her." he replied in a hard tone. "And I learned a lot about what she's had to deal with in this place. She's in the S-Wing, room 23."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Raph demanded. "Let's go!"

The turtles all ran down the hall, Leatherhead right behind them. Splinter and Casey went to follow, but the latter paused.

"Wait, I should probably go find April." he suggested. "You guys obviously have this down, but April's never been in a fight. She won't stand a chance if someone finds her."

"Go, Mr. Jones." Splinter told him. "Regroup with us once you have Miss O'Neil once more."

Casey gave a nod and took off as Splinter went to catch up to his sons.

…

April had managed to find a custodial closet and was currently hiding behind a mop bucket. Every sound outside made her flinch, every shadow that passed by the door made her want to shrink even farther into the shadows than she already had. Never had she been more terrified, or more overwhelmed.

Everything she knew, everything she had come to believe had been completely and utterly shattered. Her once normal life had been uprooted by mutant turtles, psychic best friends, and her megalomaniacal mad scientist of a boss.

As she huddled in the dark in utter fear, she heard a series of shouts and cries, like someone was getting beaten up. April squeaked in fear as she heard someone hitting the ground, then someone fiddling with the door to her closet. She just prayed her makeshift barrier, made out of various supplies she'd shoved under the knob, would hold.

"April?" Casey's voice called through the door. "You in there?"

"Casey?!"

April scrambled to her feet, shoving her barrier aside and opening the door. Once she saw Casey standing there, pushing his hockey mask up to give her that cocky grin she loved so much, she practically tackled him with a relieved hug.

"Whoa there." Casey told her, gently holding her. "It's alright."

"No it's not!" April cried, tears of fear rolling down her face. "Nothing is alright! This entire thing is messed up!"

"Calm down April." Casey whispered, petting her hair. "Believe me, I know how crazy this whole thing is."

"I don't think you do, Casey!" April exclaimed, pulling herself from Casey's grasp. "Yesterday, the only thing I was worried about was if I was gonna get a good grade on my Science Term paper. Now, I'm hiding in a broom closet, in an underground, illegal genetics lab while a group of mutants try to rescue their psychic ally, who just so happens to be one of my best friends!"

Casey gave her an understanding nod.

"You've got a point." he admitted. "I mean, it's not every day you learn your boss is a complete and utter psychopath."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, April couldn't help but snort at Casey's joking tone. He put his arm around her, gently ushering her down the hall.

"Come on." he said. "The others found Hisako. We need to get to the S-Wing now."

"I'm so sorry." Stockman interrupted, walking in between them and the hallway leading out. "But I'm afraid you won't be making your rendezvous."

Casey pushed April behind him, drawing his hockey stick again.

"Stockman." He hissed.

"In the flesh." the doctor replied, walking towards the two. "And you must be Casey Jones. I must say, you're exactly as Miss O'Neil described you."

"Funny," Casey retorted. "Because you're nothing like what she's told me about you. She said you were some great scientist trying to do some good, not this sadistic freak who gets his kicks making monsters and torturing kids."

"Greatness is often mistaken for madness." Stockman told him. "Just look at Van Gogh, DaVinci-"

"Hitler, Stalin, Frankenstein." Casey interrupted.

Stockman paused for a moment, his eye twitching. He coughed, regaining his composure before continuing.

"I digress." he stated. "As I said, you two will not be making it to your rendezvous with your mutant friend."

"Oh yeah?" Casey questioned. "And who's gonna stop us, you? I don't see any of your little pets with you."

Stockman chuckled, removing his glasses and tucking them into the pocket of his lab coat.

"I do not need my creations to deal with you two." He replied as he loosened his tie. "I can handle a musclebound jock such as you quite easily."

"Then bring it, Poindexter!" Casey shouted, yanking his hockey mask down over his face before running towards Stockman. "Goongala!"

…

The group managed to find the S-Wing after what felt like hours of searching, even if it had probably only been about 20 minutes. It was a completely sealed off hallway, most likely an added security measure after Hisako's first escape with Leatherhead.

"This is it guys." Leo whispered. "Hisako's somewhere on the other side of this door."

"Step aside boys." Donny said heading towards the door. "This is all mine."

Donny got right to work trying to hack the door. Mikey leaned on the door waiting for his brother to finish. As he looked over his shoulder he saw several SWAT troops heading towards them.

"Guys," he called out. "We got company!"

"I need time to get this door open." Donny informed them. "Keep them busy."

"Do what you must Donatello." Splinter told him. "We will handle the guards."

The group charged towards the guards. Leo quickly delivered a roundhouse kick to one troop while slicing through another one's taser stick. Using his forward momentum, he swung his swords, cutting through about three more tazers before delivering another round of kicks to the newly disarmed goons.

Mikey went wild, swinging his chuks at each and every troop he came across. He knocked around a few, punching some more for good measure, and just for fun, split kick his final pair. As he landed on his feet, he looked around him to see the slew of unconscious guards.

"Whoa." he whistled, tucking his weapons under his arms. "I'm good."

Raph kept bashing and kicking every guard that dared come close to him. One troop actually got close enough to Raph to stab him in the gut with his taser stick. Raph screamed out in pain due to the volts of electricity surging through him, but mustered up the strength to grab the guy by the shoulders. Current still going through him, the red turtle head-butted the guy, knocking him out and causing him to drop his stick. The current stopped and Raph let out a thready breath as he tried to regain his senses.

"Ow." Raph said before returned to fighting.

Splinter seemed to be having the least difficulty fighting these goons. While they were highly trained, he was a ninja master. He struck several down with precise jabs to the arms and chests. Others were unfortunate enough to meet the blunt end of his walking stick. His rat hearing allowed him to hear his foes approaching from behind and he used his tail to trip them up. One guard got picked up by the leg, where Splinter quickly turned around and knocked him out before discarding him.

Leatherhead also felt no challenge in the fight. These troops were no match for his massive strength. He just tossed or smacked away all the troops that dare get in his way.

"Donny," Leo called blocking a taser stick with his swords. "These guys just keep coming! Tell me you got that door open!"

"Almost..." Donny answered slowly before the doors finally opened. "There! Got it!"

"Great!" Leo exclaimed. "Guys, doors open! Let's-"

Before Leo could finish, protective barriers slammed in front of the entry way.

"Aw come on!" Mikey cried out. "What gives Donny?!"

"I didn't do anything!" Donny shouted, trying frantically to get the door open again.

"I did." Stockman called out.

Everyone froze as the guards stopped attacking. In fact, they parted ranks so Stockman could come forward. The doctor had a bloody nose, as well a small cut on his forehead. In fact, his clothes seemed a bit rumpled and his tie was loose.

"This is the end of the line. Surrender now, while you still have the option."

"Or what?" Raph demanded. "You'll bore us to death with your science mumbo?"

Stockman just laughed.

"Not exactly."

He snapped his fingers as a group of four guards came forward. Two of them were dragging an unconscious Casey between them. The guy had a serious black eye, a swollen lip, and his broken mask hung loosely from his face.

The second pair had April in between them. She seemed to have her hands tied behind her and a piece of cloth between her teeth. She looked terrified, struggling as hard as she could in the grip of her captors.

"No..." Splinter gasped.

"April, Casey!" Leo exclaimed.

"Let them go, Stockman!" Raph shouted.

"Or what?" Stockman jeered.

"Or you'll need to mutate yourself a new pair of eyeballs!" He threatened.

Stockman just laughed.

"Is that so?" he taunted. "Well, then I have a quick question for you all."

He took one of the men's stun batons, flipping open a small hatch to reveal the voltage meter.

"How many volts of electricity can the human body withstand before going into full cardiac arrest?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Donny screamed.

"Come now Donatello, you're supposed to be the smart one."

He turned the voltage up, the electricity on the baton buzzing loudly as he closed the hatch. April tried to squirm away, but the guards just held her still as Stockman brought the stick closer and closer to her face.

"Stop!" Leo shouted.

Stockman looked up expectantly as Leo threw his swords on the ground, putting his hands in the air. His weapons were soon joined by Donny's staff, Mikey's Nunchucks, Splinter's walking stick, and finally, Raph's Sai. Stockman just smirked, looking at the mutants as they all put their hands up in surrender. Turning the stun baton off, he gestured to the turtles.

"Take them." he ordered.

The guards all jammed their batons into the mutants, causing them all to fall to their knees in pain before they all fell unconscious.

"Put the turtles and their rat master in the J-Wing." He ordered. "Make sure they have cells nearby. Don't want to break up the family. Put Leatherhead back in his holding cell as well."

"What about these two?" one of the guards holding Casey asked.

"Send them to the B-Wing. I've been hoping to get my hands on human test subjects for a while now."

As Hisako's would-be rescuers were carted off, Stockman pulled his cellphone out of his pocket, hitting his speed dial.

"Master." he greeted as the master picked up. "I have excellent news. The plan succeeded. The turtles and Project Leatherhead are now in my grasp, as well as two human test subjects and a new mutant for me to study."

"Excellent work Stockman." The master told him. "I look forward to reading your results."

Stockman closed his phone, straightening his coat and adjusting his tie.

"So do I."

…

In her cell, Hisako's eyes opened as a single word graced her lips.

"Guys?"


	13. Hisako's Wrath

Raphael threw himself against the Plexiglas door of his cell, He punched it, kicked it, and threw his entire body weight against it. Unfortunately, this did absolutely nothing.

"Raph Stop!" Mikey shouted from across from his brother.

The red turtle refused to listen, continuing his futile struggle to break free.

"Raph, enough!" Leo shouted. "It's useless!"

Raph leaned against the glass, trying to regain his breath. Through the door, he could see his family, each in their own cells. They'd all been stripped of their weapons, their masks, and their clothes had been taken as well, replaced with hospital garbs and metallic collars that reminded them of their failure.

"We lost." Leo muttered.

Raph looked at his brother in pure rage,

"How can you just give up?!" he demanded, banging against the glass another time. "Hisako needs us!"

"We're no good to her if we wear ourselves out trying to break down the doors!" Donny tried to rationalize. "Just calm down. I'm sure Leo's coming down with a plan."

Raph continued to breathe heavily before sighing and sliding to the ground. He leaned against the door of his cell, trying to calm his raging emotions.

"We're not getting out of this, are we?" Mikey asked solemnly.

"Doesn't look like it." Leo agreed.

Raph turned around, glaring at his brother.

"Doesn't look like it?!" Raph repeated. "What the shell do you mean by that Leo?!"

"I mean we lost!" Leo exclaimed, banging his fist on the wall of his cell.

There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone stared at Leo.

"It's over." he said a bit quieter. "Stockman won. He's got Hisako, he's got Leatherhead… and now he's got us."

"Just how many volts did those goons put in you?!" Raph demanded. "Because you ain't sounding like my bro. The Leo I know wouldn't give up so easily!"

"Well the Leo you know got us all into this mess in the first place!" Leo screamed. "He let Hisako go and get that stupid pizza, even when he knew it was way too dangerous for her to go!"

"We didn't know this would happen, Leo." Donny called out, trying to calm the situation. "We didn't know that Stockman knew she was alive. We all thought she'd be safe."

"That's no excuse." Leo muttered, hugging his legs close to himself. "One of us should have gone with her."

"Look, we can assign blame later." Raph interrupted. "But for now, how's about you mutate some backbone and figure out a way to get us out of this mess."

Leo just put his head in his lap, turning away from his family. Raph saw that and closed his eyes.

"Some fearless leader you are." he muttered.

Mikey looked over at Master Splinter, tears in his eyes.

"What are we gonna do Sensei?" he asked.

"We must not lose hope, my son." Splinter replied. "If we surrender to our fates, then we have truly lost."

"Then I guess Leo's hopeless." Raph snapped.

Leo didn't even react to his brother's jab at him. However, he did react to the sound of the door to their cell block opening. All five of them turned as Stockman sauntered into the room, his entire form practically brimming with a malicious pride.

"I see you all are getting acquainted with your new living quarters." he said with a cruel undertone to his voice. "What do you think?"

"Certainly ain't the Ritz if that's what you're asking." Raph snarled.

"You don't like it?" Stockman asked. "I even gave you five your own cell block."

"Well, maybe we can toss around some interior decorations," Raph quipped sarcastically. "Like maybe… oh, I don't know, your head on a spit!"

Stockman reached into his pocket, pulling out a small remote with a set of four buttons. He pressed down the red one and Raph's collar began to spark. The red turtle howled in pain, falling to his knees.

"You'll learn that a sense of humor does not last long in here." Stockman said as he glared down at the turtle.

"Enough!" Splinter shouted, rising from where he had been kneeling.

Stockman turned, releasing the button and allowing Raph to sag to the ground. He then sauntered over to Splinter who rose to meet him.

"I believe your name is Splinter, yes?" He asked. "Your 'sons' called you that, along with Sensei, the Japanese word for teacher."

"Is this petty knowledge supposed to impress me?" Splinter asked, his voice even despite the seething rage in his eyes.

"Oh, no." Stockman replied. "I imagine you are not one who is easily impressed. I, on the other hand, find myself greatly impressed by you and your sons. You are the first mutants I have ever encountered that were not engineered in my lab. Tell me, where did you come from?"

"You hold my daughter captive, you torment my sons, you hold us all against our will, and yet you expect me to disclose secrets of our past to you? You truly are a madman."

Stockman let out a phony sigh.

"Suit yourself."

He pressed down on the blue button on the remote. The blue turtle lurched backwards, grabbing at the collar in an attempt to try and alleviate the pain.

"Leo!" the other three turtles screamed.

Splinter pressed himself against the glass of his cell, watching in horror as Leo fell to the ground, still struggling to resist the currents going through him.

"What kind of father allows his children to suffer like that?" Stockman taunted.

Splinter glared at Stockman before closing his eyes and relenting.

"Very well..." he muttered.

"Excellent." Stockman replied, releasing the button.

Leo gasped for breath as he laid on the floor of his cell, sweat pouring from him as he did. Splinter looked at his son, then glared at Stockman.

"I'm waiting." Stockman told him, dangling the remote in his fingers.

"We were not created in a lab." Splinter explained. "It was an accident that turned us into what we are. An accident caused by your company."

Stockman blinked, then stroked his chin in thought. Then, he remembered an accident almost 18 years ago.

"Wait a moment." he whispered. "That accident down in Chinatown. The truck that destroyed the small dojo. That was your home, was it not?"

Splinter's silence was all the answer he needed.

"Ha!" Stockman laughed. "I knew there would be side effects of a mutagenic spill like that, but never could I have imagined this! Five perfect mutant specimens without a single trace of any mental abnormalities!"

"Is it just me, or does Stockman sound like us on Christmas?" Mikey whispered to Donny.

"The way he's looking at us, it's like he's sizing us up." Donny whispered back. "I don't like it."

"Now there are a few questions I need answers to." Stockman said, drawing Donny and Mikey's attention once more. "According to the police report, they found the wife of the family, and the daughter, but they never found the husband. Is that who you were before you became 'Master Splinter'?"

"Yes." Splinter replied, the pain of the day he mutated returning in full force.

"Well then, what does that make your sons?" Stockman asked. "The report said that you never had any children outside of your daughter. Were these four your pets or something like that?"

Both Donny and Mikey winced, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Stockman. He began laughing so hard that he had to lean against the wall to stabilize himself.

"They were, weren't they?!" he cackled. "This is priceless! You were so desperate for a family that you took mutated house pets on as your sons! How pathetic!"

Splinter couldn't hold back his rage any longer. He banged his paws against the glass, glaring at Stockman.

"Unlock this door and I will show you just how 'pathetic' I truly am!" he snarled.

Stockman just continued laughing, his loud fit slowly dialing down to a small bout of giggles.

"I believe you." Stockman replied. "I believe you would do just about anything for your so-called family-"

Stockman paused, and Splinter could practically hear the gears turning in the mad doctor's head.

"What?" Splinter demanded.

"It's possible..." Stockman muttered to himself. "It just might work..."

"What might work?!" Splinter demanded again.

Stockman just smiled, placing his hand on the glass of Splinter's cell.

"I do believe you have given me the answer to my Oracle problem."

Stockman turned to the door leading into the cell block, opening it as a group of about 8 to 10 guards.

"Gather up the turtles and bring them to the S-Wing." he ordered. "I think it's time for a family reunion."

Raph sat up, a sinking feeling in his gut of what this 'family reunion' would entail. Both Donny and Mikey did the same, coming to similar conclusions. Leo just remained on the ground, having completely given up. They were pulled out of their cells one by one, their hands chained behind them so they wouldn't be able to escape. Splinter began pounding on the glass in desperation.

"Release them!" he shouted. "Don't you dare lay a finger on my-"

Before he could finish, Stockman pressed the small black button on the remote. Splinter's collar activated, sending the rat into a fit of convulsions.

"Sensei!" Mikey screamed.

"Quiet, lest you wish to suffer the same fate." Stockman threatened.

Mikey clammed up, but Raph just struggled against the men trying to drag him away.

"You're the one who's gonna suffer when I get my hands on you!"

The door to the cell block closed, effectively silencing Raph's threats.

"I think not."

…

Hisako looked around, wishing she still wasn't so weak after trying to maintain that coma for so long. She could barely make out her own thoughts, much less read another's. This made it impossible for her to tell exactly where everyone was, and why she'd been inexplicably left alone after she'd awoken.

_What are you planning, Stockman? And where are my brothers? I know I felt them. I know they're here._

The door to her cell opened, pulling Hisako from her thoughts. She looked to see Stockman sauntering in, that cruel, arrogant grin plastered on his face.

"I'm glad to see you awake, Oracle." he told her. "I was starting to get worried."

Hisako snorted.

"More like you couldn't get your kicks torturing me when I wasn't awake to scream."

"Ooh, feisty." Stockman taunted. "What's got you fired up?"

"I know my brothers are here." she told him, her confidence adding to her bravery. "I felt them, and if they're here, then they're gonna tear this place apart, save me, and make you pay for every cruel act you've ever inflicted."

Stockman just chuckled.

"Well, you're half right." he replied.

Hisako felt a lump of uncertainty enter her chest as her bravado faltered.

"What do you mean?" She asked hesitantly.

"Well, your brothers are here-"

He snapped his fingers and the guards dragged the turtles into the room, forcing them into a row, and onto their knees. Hisako saw their hospital garbs, their collars, and the defeated expression on Leo's face, and it was as if her entire world came crashing down around her.

"-but I don't think they'll be doing any saving." Stockman finished.

Hisako met eyes with her brothers as Mikey attempted to smile at her.

"Hey sis." he called.

"What happened?!" Hisako practically screamed before turning on Stockman. "What did you do them?!"

"They broke into my facility, caused me thousands of dollars in damages, not to mention all of the projects they terminated in their failed attempt to rescue you."

Hisako's eyes began to glow green, and on the machine monitoring her brainwaves, the readings began to spike.

"Stockman, let my brothers go right now, or I swear-"

"Now that entirely depends on you." Stockman interrupted.

"What do you mean?" Hisako questioned.

Stockman didn't answer her outright. Instead, he looked over at the array of tools still laying on a tray by Hisako's chair. He surveyed them each individually before settling on what looked like a small knife with a serrated edge. Hisako didn't need to read his mind to know what he had planned.

"Stockman, no!" Hisako screamed.

Once more, Stockman ignored her. He simply turned to the turtles and pointed at them.

"Eeny, meeny, miney, mo." he muttered, pointing at the turtles with each word. "Catch a turtle by the toe."

"Stop it!" Hisako shouted, her cries followed by an increasing beat from the brainwave monitor.

"If he hollers, let it go. Eeny, meeny, miney, mo."

His finger paused on Mikey. The orange turtle squeaked as Stockman grabbed him by the hair forcing his neck back as he placed the knife right up against the bare skin.

"Mikey!" Raph screamed, redoubling his efforts to free himself.

"Let him go!" Donny demanded, also trying to free himself.

Even Leo was trying to break free, refusing to give up if it meant losing his brother.

"If you hurt him-" Leo started.

"As I said." Stockman interrupted again. "That entirely depends on Oracle."

He turned to Hisako, who was struggling with all her might to pull free of her restraints. The brainwave monitor was beeping so rapidly that it almost sounded like one continuous beep.

"Your choice, Oracle." Stockman jeered, a gleam of madness in his eye. "Give in and let me use your powers for what they were made for, or watch your precious brother die!"

"You wouldn't!" Hisako screamed. "I know you too well! You wouldn't destroy a unique specimen like my brothers!"

Stockman just shrugged.

"There are always three more." he replied dismissively.

Green mist seemed to flow from Hisako's eyes and the brainwave monitor began to spark and smoke.

"I'll give you to the count of three." Stockman told her. "1..."

The tools on the tray began to shake. An unseen wind began to blow through the room.

"2."

The lights began to flicker, drawing the turtles, and the guards' attention. On instinct the turtles curled up as best they could, closing their eyes and bracing themselves.

"3."

In that split second before Stockman drew the knife across Mikey's throat, everything exploded. The lights blew out, the brainwave monitor shorted out and caught fire, and all of the straps holding Hisako in her chair utterly disintegrated. A wave of green energy suddenly pulsed through the facility, throwing Stockman away from Mikey and the guards off of the turtles. The chains binding their arms were reduced to ash and the collars on their necks shorted out, unlocking and falling in their lap. Immediately, Donny ran to Mikey.

"You okay?" he asked, checking Mikey's neck for any wounds.

"I think so." Mikey muttered.

"Guys." Leo called. "Look."

The turtles all looked to see Hisako rising out of her chair, and not in the normal way. She was floating inches above the ground, a halo of green energy surrounding her. The electrodes attached to her head went flying off of her as her long hair began to regrow at a rapid pace. Her eyes were closed, but when she opened them, they were solid green.

"Hisako?" Raph whispered.

Hisako didn't seem to register her brother. Instead, her gaze locked on Stockman, who was currently trying to get back up.

"_**Stockman.**_" she said, her voice sounding like it was a multitude of people talking at the same time.

Stockman got to his feet, only to come face to face with a pissed of Hisako. Before he could utter a word, she waved her hand, sending him flying into an adjacent wall.

"_**You ruined my childhood!"**_

She swiped her arm in the opposite direction.

"_**You used me as a weapon!**_"

She sent her hand up.

"_**You took me from my family!**_"

She then brought her hand down.

"_**Then, you threatened my brother!**_"

With every direction she sent her hand, Stockman and various other objects and debris went flying that direction. By the time she had him floating before her, he looked like he'd been in a grudge match with the entire WWE.

"_**After everything you've done, I should kill you!**_"

That's when the turtles came barreling out of the cell.

"Hisako, don't!" Leo screamed.

"_**Why? He is a monster!**_"

"You're right!" Donny agreed. "But if you kill him, then you'll be just like him."

Hisako looked at her brothers, then back at Stockman. Her gaze hardened as she grabbed his head, her fingers plunging into his skull.

"Hisako-" Leo began.

"_**I am not killing him**_." She assured him as she began pulling a large glowing blue mass from Stockman's head. "_**I am just ensuring that he never hurts anyone else ever again!**_"

She pulled the mass completely out of Stockman's head, the man's eyes rolling back in his head as he crumbled to the ground. Hisako looked down at the mass, then crushed it in her grip, reducing it to dust. The turtles stared in awe as the dust slowly vanished.

"Hisako… What did you do?" Mikey asked.

"_**His memories are gone**__**. He will never **_**remember** who he is..."

The green halo around Hisako vanished, taking with it the strange wind. Hisako's eyes returned to normal as she fell to the ground, stumbling backwards. Leo stepped forward to catch her, draping her arm around his shoulder.

"I got you sis." he told her.

That's when a rumbling shook the lab. Everyone struggled to keep their balance as the tremor brought down some small debris.

"Uh, Hisako, is that you still?" Raph asked.

Hisako weakly shook her head.

"That telekinetic pulse must have compromised the structural integrity of the lab."

"English, Brainiac!" Raph shouted.

"This place is gonna crumble down on top of us!" Donny shouted. "We need to get everyone else and get out of here!"

"Good idea!" Leo agreed. "Donny, you find April and Casey. Get them to safety."

Hisako weakly pointed to the left.

"B-Wing..." she muttered.

Donny disappeared in an instant.

"Mikey, you go find Master Splinter. He should still be in that cell block we were in."

"On it, bro!"

Mikey vanished as Leo turned to Raph.

"Raph, you go get Leatherhead." he ordered.

Raph bent down, picking up the knife that Stockman had planned to use on Mikey.

"Sure thing." he replied before grabbing Stockman by his coat. "Right after I deal with this piece of sewer scum!"

"Raph, wait!" Leo shouted.

"Are you seriously defending him?!" Raph demanded. "After everything he's done, after what he was going to do to Mikey?!"

"Didn't you hear what we told Hisako?!" Leo retorted. "You kill him, and you're no better than him!"

"I can live with that." Raph snarled.

Leo caught his arm before he could deliver the blow.

"But she can't."

Raph looked down at Hisako, whom by now had passed out.

"He was her enemy, and she made her choice." Leo explained. "Honor it."

Raph hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly dropped the knife.

"Alright." he said as he pulled his hand from Leo's grasp. "But only for her."

"Fine by me." Leo agreed as he picked up Hisako, "Now let's move!"

…

April and Casey stood in their cells, trying to figure out the source of the strange tremors that had begun to shake the lab. The guards and doctors who had been watching them and examining them had long since fled, probably evacuating.

"Casey, what's going on?"

"I don't know. I've only got one good eye right now, and this cell doesn't exactly have the best view."

That's when a guard suddenly came sliding across the ground, coming to a stop in between April and Casey's cells. This guard was soon joined by another, and that's when Donny came in, brandishing what looked like a busted water pipe as a weapon.

"Donny?" Casey gasped.

"Donny!" April shouted.

"Hey guys!" Donny called as he grabbed a keycard off of the guards. "I'm getting you out of here!"

As he unlocked the cells, Casey grabbed a key from a nearby desk, getting the collar off his neck before getting to work on April's.

"Donny, what happened?" April asked. "What was that blast?"

"Long story short, Hisako." Donny replied.

April's collar went clattering to the ground as Casey met Donny's eye.

"Wait, Greeny is the one behind this place crumbling like a house of cards?" he asked.

"Believe me, we're all surprised." Donny told him. "But that's a topic for when we're not about to get crushed."

He grabbed April's hand as April grabbed Casey's. Together, they began running for their lives.

…

Mikey was able to remember the way he'd been taken with relative ease. The continuous rumbling of the shaking lab only helped to spur him into motion. He was running so fast that he nearly missed the pitiful mewling sound coming from one of the now opened labs. Heading back, Mikey spotted a tiny orange cat in a cage, shivering in fright.

"Aww, look at you." Mikey whispered, slowly approaching the cage. "You're so cute."

The cat looked up at Mikey, desperation in his little eyes. Mikey pulled the cage open, gently ushering the cat out.

"Come on little guy, it's not safe here anymore."

The cat leaped into Mikey's arms, the orange turtle gently petting it to calm it down.

"Don't worry, little guy." Mikey promised as he perched the cat on his shoulder. "I'll get you out of here and give you a real home."

As Mikey took off down the hallway once more, the cat began to nuzzle his face. Mikey giggled at the feeling.

"I've always wanted a pet." he said. "I think I'll call you… Klunk."

…

Splinter meditated in his cell, trying to realign his spirit so he could figure out a way to escape. In the midst of his mantra, he heard the doors to the cellblock open. He intended to ignore whomever it was that was coming to disturb him, until he heard the familiar voice of his son.

"Sensei!" Mikey called. "Snap out of it!"

Splinter's eyes flew open as he saw Mikey outside his cell, currently unlocking the door with a guard's keycard.

"Michelangelo!" Splinter shouted, grabbing his son in a hug. "Where are your brothers? Where is-"

"We've got Hisako, Master Splinter!" Mikey exclaimed as he used a physical key to get the collar off Splinter's neck. "You should have seen her! She went total Dark Phoenix on Stockman and freed us all! Well, she also did set the building to come down on top of us, but at least now she's okay."

"If she is safe, then that is all I need to know for now." Splinter assured the orange turtle. "Now, let us regroup with the others."

…

Leatherhead threw himself against the thick metal door of his cell, but even his best efforts didn't make a dent. Even with the reinforced steel that TCRI had used to construct his cell, the croc could feel the lab beginning to crumble. While he may stand a chance of surviving the building's collapse, Hisako and her allies did not.

"Release me!" He demanded, trying to claw through the door. "Now!"

Through the small slot that served as his only connection to the rest of the lab, Leatherhead could make out doctors and guards alike attempting to evacuate, going as far as to trample one another in desperation to escape.

"Sorry, freak!" one of the final doctors called out as they ran. "Looks like you're gonna be a new croc-skinned rug!"

As this final doctor rounded the corner, a green arm came out and grabbed them, yanking them from Leatherhead's view. There was the sound of a scuffle, then the doctor landed on his back, halfway hidden by the wall. That's when Raph rounded the corner, searching the doctor for his key card.

"Now that wasn't a very nice thing to say, now was it doc?" The red turtle quipped.

"Raphael!" Leatherhead shouted.

"Good to see you too, big guy." Raph replied as he opened Leatherhead's cell. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."

"Where is Oracle?" Leatherhead asked as he pulled the collar off of his neck. "Is she safe?"

"Yeah, she's fine." Raph replied. "Apparently she can do more than mess with people's heads."

"What do you mean?" Leatherhead questioned.

"She's the one responsible for this building about to fall down on us."

"She is?"

"Yeah. Stockman made a horrible mistake of threatening Mikey and Hisako made him see the error of his ways. From what I've gathered, she destroyed his mind. He can't remember his own name anymore."

Leatherhead smiled, more than a little happy to know that the man who had ruined his life was now but a mere shell of himself.

"Good"

…

Leo ran down the hallway with Hisako in his arms. She kept fading in and out of consciousness, but when she was awake, she kept giving him vague instructions on where to go.

"Left here..." she muttered.

Leo banked left, confused as to where his sister was leading him, but trusting she knew what she was doing.

"Door..."

Leo stopped, noticing a door with B. Stockman on the nameplate. It seemed to be plain office door, so Leo kicked it down. In the spacious office, Leo's eyes locked on the weapons on display in a glass case.

"Our stuff!" Leo exclaimed with a grin.

"Keys… top drawer… left."

Leo gently put Hisako down in the large office chair as he opened the top left drawer. Along with the keys to the case, Leo found their shell cells and Donny's remote to the Shellraiser. He snagged it all, depositing the phones and remote into Hisako's lab as he raided the cabinet.

"Gonna need a way carry all this stuff, and you." Leo said as he filled his arms with the weapons.

"Coat..."

Leo looked to see a discarded lab coat hanging by the door. The blue turtle quickly filled the various pockets with the smaller weapons, shell cells, and the remote. He then slid the coat on Hisako, pulling her back onto his shell and using his swords and Donny's staff as extra support.

"Good job, sis." He told her as her head sagged in unconsciousness once more. "Now let's get out of here."

…

Donny got to the elevator shaft first, holding Casey and April close to shield them from the falling debris.

"Where is everyone?" April questioned.

"They'll be here April." Casey replied. "Just hang on."

Proving him right, Raph came barreling towards the elevator, Leatherhead hot on his tail.

"See, told you." Casey said with a smile.

Mikey and Splinter rounded a corner, and when the rat saw his other sons, he grabbed them in an embrace.

"My sons, you are safe."

That's when April noticed Klunk on Mikey's shoulder.

"Is that a cat?" she asked.

Mikey gently scratched Klunk behind the ear.

"I named him Klunk." Mikey replied. "Isn't he cute?"

Before April could reply, Splinter looked around a bit worried.

"Where is Leonardo and Hisako?" he asked.

That's when Leo appeared.

"Sorry we're late." he greeted. "But Hisako wanted to grab some stuff before we left."

Splinter pulled Hisako off Leo's back, holding her close as tears rolled down his snout. Leo took the opportunity to redistribute their weapons.

"Oh yeah!" Raph cheered. "I was missing these!"

"Got more than those." Leo replied. "Stockman had our shell cells, and this."

He tossed Donny the Shellraiser remote, which the purple turtle caught before tucking into the side of his pants.

"Good thing he did." he remarked, pointing down the elevator shaft. "Take a look."

Everybody peered down the empty shaft, where they could see the remains of the elevator crashed into Fishface's old tank.

"Uh oh." Casey muttered as he pointed to the wreckage below. "I don't think we're going to be able to get out this way."

"The scientists from down here must have released the car to make sure we couldn't get out." Donny surmised.

"And the path that I used to get in here myself is no longer available." Leatherhead added, gesturing towards the hole he created, which is now blocked by a piece of falling debris.

"Then how are we going to get out of here?" April asked.

Leo gently took Hisako back from Master Splinter, sliding the coat off of her. He propped her on his back before shredding the coat, using the strips to tie her onto his back so she wouldn't fall.

"We climb." He announced.

Donny pulled April onto his back as Raph grabbed Casey.

"You guys hold on." Donny told them, "And everyone be quiet. We don't know if anyone is waiting for us up there."

Leo checked Hisako one last time, then jumped into the shaft, grabbing hold of the elevator cable still hanging before him. With practiced motions, he began to climb to freedom. Master Splinter followed closely afterwards, easily keeping up with his son. Donny went next, then Raph, then Mikey, making sure that Klunk remained safely on his shoulders. Leatherhead took the rear, preferring to climb up the walls of the shaft rather than climb the wire.

When they reached the top, Leo happily noted the large rock keeping the elevator doors open.

"We got lucky guys." He hissed down the shaft before peering through the opening. "And there's nobody up here."

"The upper floors must have been evacuated already." April surmised.

Leo jumped from the cable, grabbing hold of the edge of the elevator shaft so he could pull himself through. He then held out his hand for Splinter, and together, they pushed the door open the rest of the way so everyone else could get out.

"Okay, now what?" Casey asked. "It's not like we can just walk out the front door and catch a cab."

"Leave that to me" Donnie insisted, grabbing the remote.

He pushed the homing button as the building began to violently shake. It was becoming increasingly obvious that this building wasn't going to last much longer.

"Don, tell me our ride's here." Mikey muttered, barely keeping balance.

There was a familiar sound of the Shellraiser pulling up alongside TCRI. Everyone looked down at it, relief on all their faces.

"Time to disappear guys!" Leo announced.

"But how will we get down there fast enough?" April asked.

The turtles all smiled, then Leatherhead grabbed both April and Casey, tucking them under his arms. With a running start, they all jumped out of the window, April screaming in terror as Casey shouted in delight. The group rebounded off of the other building and the outer walls of TCRI, aiding in safely making it to ground level. After a moment, the entire group landed safely on the roof of the Shellraiser.

"Okay… next time, warn us before you jump out of a sixth story window!" April screamed as Leatherhead dropped her and Casey.

"No time." The turtles replied in unison.

Climbing off the roof, Mikey threw open the back doors as the group clambered in.

"With this place about to go down, emergency officials will be everywhere." Donny remarked.

"Casey, you take the wheel." Leo ordered. "You know where the garage is."

"Where are the keys?" Casey asked as he slid into the driver's seat.

"Sun screen." Raph replied.

April took the passenger seat, knocking the screen down and handing Casey the keys.

"Next stop, anywhere but here!" He called out.

He gunned the engine, peeling out of the alley. As they made it onto the highway, the Hamato family all watched TCRI's destruction. The building sank into the ground before folding in on itself, crumbling into dust with a loud, satisfying crash.

"It's gone." Leatherhead whispered, staring at the smoking remnants with a disbelieving smile. "The source of my nightmares, the bane of my existence. It is finally gone."

"Hisako is finally free." Splinter whispered, gently stroking Hisako's head.

"We're all free." Leo clarified.

With the realization that it was all over, the rush of adrenaline and nerves keeping them all awake faded away, One by one, every sagged forward joining Hisako in the land of unconsciousness. When the back of the Shellraiser fell silent, April looked back to make sure everyone was alright. When she saw everyone fast asleep, Hisako in the middle with all her brothers around her, unwilling to let their family go even in unconsciousness, April couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"I can't believe I ever questioned that they were Hisako's brothers."

…

The Master overlooked the efforts of his private Disaster Relief squad as they poured through the wreck of TCRI. He'd had to pull several strings to keep the media off the scene, and even more strings with the city to stave off any investigations. If Stockman had somehow survived the destruction of the lab, he would make him wish he hadn't. Hun stood next to him, also surveying the damage.

"Sir! We found him!"

The Master turned to where he'd been called. There, he saw a pair of rescue workers pulling a piece of debris off of Stockman. The doctor was in horrible shape, though whether it was from his altercation with the turtles or from the building falling on him was anybody's guess. Lucky for him, it seemed that a bent I-beam had kept him from getting fully crushed.

"Get him up." he ordered.

Hun pulled Stockman up as he came to, obviously disoriented.

"What… what's going on?" He asked. "Why does my leg hurt?"

"Stockman-" The master began.

"Who?" Stockman interrupted.

The Master paused, red flags going up. Stockman's next words only cemented what he was already thinking.

"Who are you? And who is this Stockman?"

The master growled in annoyance, gesturing for the rescue men to get Stockman out. Once Hun tossed the amnesiac doctor at them, they left, leaving the Master alone. The man's usually calm demeanor snapped, causing him to turn and punch one of the remaining structural supports so hard that his knuckles broke.

"Master!" Hun shouted.

"Silence!" The master shouted, not even register the pain as blood dripped down his hand. "TCRI is gone, Stockman has become useless, and all of his research was destroyed in the collapse! This entire operation has become nothing more than a cesspool of failure!"

"Not completely, sir!"

The master looked, surprised as a few more rescue workers uncovered two slightly damaged, but still intact, holding cells. Inside were two of Stockman's projects. Project Horns, and Project Tusks.

"What should we do with them?" One of the workers asked.

The master looked at the two unconscious creatures, examining them.

"They could be of some use to me." he decided. "Take them to my personal headquarters."

They did as they were told as Hun made an observation.

"It would seem that Stockman was not strong enough to handle the four turtles and Project Oracle."

"You are right." The master agreed. "Her power was much stronger than any of us could have ever predicted, and those turtles are far more skilled than I initially gave them credit for."

He began to contemplate his next move carefully.

"Perhaps it is time to fall back on more… traditional methods. And I think I know just who to send."


	14. New Girl in Town

Down in an old subway tunnel long-since abandoned by the citizens of New York, the Hamato family was working together to help Leatherhead get settled into the newly discovered space. While they all enjoyed the crocodile's company, their home was snug enough as it is with the six of them. It had taken a few days to find their large ally a home big enough, and even longer to gather all the furniture and build a security system for him. Now, the only thing left to do was help Leatherhead get fully moved in.

"Alright, a bit more to the right…" Mikey called, waving his hand to the right.

Both Raph and Leo struggled to lift their end of the large mattress as they followed Mikey's instructions. Leatherhead easily lifted his end, also following the orange turtle's commands.

"Now a bit more to the left." Mikey corrected.

"Oh I'll give you a left, Mikey!" Raph growled. "A left hook!"

From atop the mattress they were currently trying to situate, Hisako sat up, looking more than a bit annoyed.

"You know, I could do a lot more good if you let me off the mattress." She commented hopefully.

"Not a chance." Leo told her. "You were out for a whole week after what you did to Stockman, and we just want to make sure you're fully recovered."

"Come on guys," Hisako griped. "I've been doing nothing but recuperating for a week. I've been resting, I've been watching you move furniture, I'm even resting on the furniture you're moving!"

Donny looked up from where he was working, installing a security system for Leatherhead.

"As the unofficial physician of this group, I say it's too early for you to be doing any strenuous physical activity."

Hisako groaned, flopping down on the mattress in frustration. As much as she loved her brothers, they could be a bit overbearing at times. With their sister sufficiently cowed, the turtles resumed their duties.

"There!" Mikey called out. "Perfect!"

Leo and Raph gratefully dropped the mattress, Leatherhead doing the same. He then scooped up Hisako, placing her on his shoulder.

"What next Don?" Leo asked.

"Well I-"

Before Donnie could answer, there was the familiar sound of footsteps approaching from not far off. Hisako instantly perked up, jumping off of Leatherhead's shoulders before anyone could react.

"Casey! April!" she called.

"Hey Greenie." Casey greeted as he and April entered the lair.

"You're looking better." April told her. "And, not just physically. You seem genuinely happy."

Hisako grinned.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she replied. "The man who ruined my life is gone, the place that haunted my nightmares is history. For the first time in my life… I'm 100% free."

"Get back here Hisako." Donnie called out, causing Hisako's smile to drop slightly.

"Scratch that. 95% free."

She then quickly dove out of the way of Raph's attempts to grab her.

"You need to rest!" Leo insisted, "You've had a traumatic experience!"

"We've ALL had a traumatic experience!" Hisako argued. "You went full on emo, Leo!"

"Yeah but yours was traumatic-er." Mikey called out, faltering a bit at the end.

Hisako just giggled as April decided to change the subject.

"So… I see you guys got Leatherhead moved in." She remarked.

Donny gave a nod.

"Yeah." he commented. "Figured it would give us something to do while we recovered. Unfortunately, the task was so time consuming that we haven't even had time to find new masks for ourselves."

"Funny you should say that." Casey remarked holding out some kind of box covered in newspaper.

"Ooh presents!" Mikey exclaimed.

He grabbed it, tearing off the paper in one fell swoop. His smile faded a bit when he was it was just a shoe box.

"Gee thanks Case." Mikey said monotonously. "But I think we got the shoe department squared away.

Casey chuckled.

"Open it, bonehead."

Mikey did so and his smile returned at the sight of a row of colorful lengths of cloth. There were five of them, one for each one of the Hamato Clan.

"Guys! We've got new masks!" Mikey squealed in delight.

Everyone swarmed the box, snagging their proper color, immediately tying them onto their faces. Once they did, it was as if a small piece of them had been returned to them.

"Gotta say, I was starting to feel naked without it." Raph remarked.

"Thank you both." Leo told them with a bow.

"Don't mention it." Casey said with a wave. "Consider it a thank you for saving our hides."

Hisako looked at the fifth mask, a lime green color that matched the highlights in her hair. Having never had a mask of her own, she was eager to see if it worked.

"How do I look?" she asked, finishing off the knot.

"Nice." Leo complimented.

"Not bad." Raph agreed.

"I concur." Donnie added.

"Little less hair, little more green, and a shell, and you could pass as one of us." Mikey commented.

That's when April let out a snort. The Hamato clan turned to see her and Casey fighting back snickers.

"Funny you should mention that..." She giggled. "You see…. We didn't just buy the masks."

Casey pulled out a large box, handing it to Hisako. She took it, seriously tempted to read their minds, but instead, she simply opened the present. Once she opened the box, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"What do ya think?" Casey asked.

Hisako reached into the box, pulling out a backpack shaped exactly like a turtle shell. The turtles took one look at it, and the dam burst. Everyone in the room began laughing hysterically. Hisako slipped the backpack one, giggling so hard tears came to her eyes.

"Look guys!" she cackled. "I'm just like you!"

"Aesthetically maybe, but not-"

That's when Hisako snatched his mask right off his face.

"I beg to differ." she argued playfully, pulling off her mask. "Just watch my intellectual relation."

She pulled Donny's mask over her face, then turned to face the group.

"Greetings." she called in a robotic version of Donny's voice, complete with cheesy robotic arm movements. "I am Donatello. I am a turtle robot. I am incapable of talking to anybody without sounding like a know-it-all."

The rest of the group burst into laughter hearing Hisako's impression of her brother. Donnie chuckled good-naturedly before snatching his mask back.

"Ha-ha. Very funny."

"Yeah." Mikey agreed. "Downright hilarious!"

That's when Hisako grabbed his mask.

"Just for that, you're next!"

She tied on the mask, then made the silliest face she could muster.

"Yo Dudes! I'm Michelangelo! Wanna see me stuff an entire pizza in my mouth?!"

"Hey!" Mikey interjected as everyone else was laughing. "That only happened once."

Everybody looked at Mikey, their gazes silently judging him.

"Ok twice, but I choked on that last one!"

Everybody giggled as Mikey reclaimed his mask

"Alright Hisako," Leo said handing his mask to her. "Let's see what you do with me."

Hisako slipped the mask on, then took on a deep, batman-esque voice.

"I am Leonardo. I am your leader. You must do what I say because I am the leader. I know what is best because I am the leader."

Now everybody was laughing once more, even Hisako as she handed Leo his mask back,

"I sound nothing like that!" Leo shouted putting his mask back on.

"Yes that's why we're laughing," Raph responded. "Because you sound nothing like that."

That's when Hisako walked up to him, holding out her hand.

"Your turn, Raphy-boy." she told him, her voice laced with an edge that only seemed to egg Raph on.

"Bring it on." Raph challenged, handing her his mask.

She put on the mask, then took on a gorilla like stance.

"Me Raph! Me Smash!" she shouted, raising her fists into the air.

She then immediately pulled the mask off her face, throwing it at Raph before taking off in a dead sprint.

"That's it!" Raph shouted, snagging his mask out of the air before starting to chase after her. "Come back here you little parrot!"

He chased her around Leatherhead's home in a full circle, Hisako taunting him with every step. The rest of them watched the two of them with a combination of surprise and enjoyment.

"I think it's safe to say that Hisako has a clean bill of health." Leo noted.

"I guess so." Donnie concurred as Raph continued his futile chase.

Eventually, Hisako stopped mid-run, causing Raph to trip over himself to try and stop himself.

"Hey, anybody else hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah." Mikey agreed.

"I could eat." Donny added.

"Yeah..." Raph croaked.

Hisako grinned.

"Okay. I could run to that burger joint down the road and-"

"NO!" everybody shouted at once.

Hisako paused for a moment, then realized what she'd said.

"Right..." she muttered. "Forgot for a minute."

"You may be physically better, but we are not letting you go topside alone again." Leo insisted.

"At least, not anytime in the foreseeable future." Donnie amended.

Hisako conceded, turning to Casey and April.

"Well, if not me, then what about you two?"

Both Casey and April shook their heads.

"We both got lost about 17 times just trying to find this place." April argued.

"Yeah, sorry Greenie, but you're kinda outta luck with us." Casey lamented.

"Well then how do we decide-" Hisako began.

"NO NOSE GOES!" Mikey screamed

Donny, Mikey, and Raph immediately placed a finger on the center of their face where a nose would usually be. Leo, who was a second too late, sighed in irritation.

"Ah come on guys." Leo lamented. "How is this fair? We don't even have noses."

"Then what do you call the little slits right there?" Casey asked, gesturing to Leo's nostrils.

"...Little slits?" Leo tried to answer.

Raph clapped Leo on the shell.

"Don't try to fight it bro. You lost, you go."

"Well how exactly do you expect me to get burgers? I can't exactly go inside, and i don't think they take turtles in the drive-thru."

That's when a bike helmet came flying his way. Leo barely caught it in time.

"Take the shell cycle." Raph told him. "Nobody will think twice about you in a full face helmet on my bike."

"You sure Raph?" Leo asked, taken aback by Raph's suggestion.

"Yeah, just know this."

He grabbed Leo by the shirt, pulling him closer so they were looking each other dead in the eye.

"You get so much as a scratch on her, and we'll see if mutant turtles can survive without their shells."

"Noted." Leo simply responded as Raph released him.

Slipping the helmet under his arm, Leo left the tunnel. Behind Raph, Hisako resumed her gorilla-like stance.

"Scratch bike, Raph SMASH!" She mocked.

Raph turned on her, pouncing on her as she tried to get away.

"Raph gonna smash you!" Raph roared mocking Hisako's impression of him as the two wrestled.

Both Mikey and Donny watched the wrestling match with a mix of apprehension and fascination.

"Umm, should we do something, Don?" Mikey asked.

"You want to get between those two?" Donnie retorted.

Mikey looked back at the fierce battle between the two siblings.

"Uh… no." He replied.

"Me neither." Casey agreed.

"Not gonna happen." April concluded.

…..

Leo had to admit, cruising down the street on the Shell Cycle was pretty fun. He'd been the last of his brothers to even think of riding the bike, labeling it reckless and hazardous. That had changed the first time he got on it. While he still preferred to run or to travel by Shell raiser, he wasn't against a little ride every now and then.

As Leo approached a stop light, another rider came up beside him on a sleek, red motorcycle. The rider looked at Leo's bike up and down before flipping up the visor of their helmet.

"Nice ride you got there!" the rider compliment

Leo turned to the rider.

"Thanks." he responded. "Yours is pretty sweet too."

"Yeah, but looks aren't everything." The rider countered. "It's about what's inside."

The rider revved the engine of their bike, their back tire squealing and burning rubber. Leo grinned under his helmet, doing the same. He'd probably need to buy Raph some new tires, but something told him this would be worth it.

"Bike's got juice, I'll admit." The rider conceded. "But let's see if it can keep up."

The light turned green and the rider sped off in a streak of red and black. Leo grinned.

"Bring it!" Leo challenged as he sped after her.

With all the mods Raph had made to the bike, Leo caught up with his opponent relatively quickly. The driver just looked at him before accelerating again. Seeing this, Leo got irritated and hit the accelerator as well, desperate to catch up. The Rider swerved into his lane, blocking his attempts to pass him. Leo then swerved into the other lane to try and pull ahead. Unfortunately, the rider swerved with him.

"Not gonna be that easy, newbie!" The rider taunted.

Leo wasn't done yet. He revved the bike, desperately trying to catch up to his opponent. He then looked down the road and saw a final stop light before the road cut off.

"First one through that light wins!" the rider called.

Leo and the rider sped as fast as they could towards the stoplight, with the rider still ahead. Taking measures into his own hands, Leo saw a small, make-shift ramp a kid had probably made for his skate board.

"This is so stupid." he muttered as he gunned it.

At breakneck speeds, Leo approached the ramp and ran straight up it, the rider looked up in amazement as Leo soared through the air over her. With seconds to spare, Leo crossed the 'finish line' right before the other rider did, immediately hitting the brakes and coming to a stop.

"That, was some pretty gutsy racing there, newbie." The rider complimented as they pulled of their helmet.

Leo was absolutely mesmerized when the rider revealed their face, or more appropriately, her face. The rider had long, bright pink hair that seemed to cascade out of the helmet in a waterfall of pink tresses. Her skin was an olive tinge, and her smile made Leo's brain suddenly short circuit.

"Uh…. thanks." Leo responded still stunned.

The rider laughed at Leo's sudden debacle with the English language.

"I see. Wasn't expecting a girl right?" she asked. "No worries. I'm more than used to it."

Leo just kept staring before finally snapping himself out of it, clearing his throat.

"No. no it's fine. I just wasn't expecting a girl… like you."

The girl gave a grin.

"There are no girls like me." she told him. "But then again, I doubt there are guys like you either. People like us tend to be one of a kind."

"Uh…" Leo stuttered until he realized what she meant. "Yeah. Right."

The girl chuckled.

"You know, you're a good rider, but you could definitely use a few lessons in racing, and in some real jumps."

She fished into her jacket, pulling out a small notepad and a pen. With a flurry of motion, she scribbled something on one of the pages before ripping it out.

"Here." she said, offering him the paper. "Give me a call if you ever feel like becoming a real biker."

"Uh… yeah sure." Leo answered.

She chuckled, tucking the paper into his jacket pocket.

"Though first, you might want to take some English classes." she joked.

She was about to speed off before Leo finally remembered that he didn't even know this mystery girl's name.

"Hey!" he called out. "I didn't catch your name!"

The girl looked over her shoulder before slipping her helmet back on.

"It's Karai, you?"

"It's Leo." he replied. "Leonardo"

Karai revved her bike, peeling down the street with a final wave.

"See you around, Leonardo!"

Leo just stood there, utterly amazed the girl he had met there tonight. Who was she? Where did she come from? He didn't know, all he knew was he had to see her again.

A buzzing in his pocket pulled him from his reverie. Fishing around, he pulled out his shell cell, which was displaying a text message.

_**You get lost bro? Mikey's getting restless waiting for those burgers! -H**_

Leo suddenly remembered, and felt like a complete and utter idiot.

"The burgers!" he screamed

Jumping back on the bike, Leo sped off, hoping he wasn't too late.

….

Leo finally made it back to Leatherhead's place with the food, the paper with Karai's number folded up in his jacket pocket.

"Hey guys!" Leo called out, holding out the bags of food. "Sorry I'm late!"

"Bout time bro." Raph called back, snagging one of the bags from his brother. "What kept ya?"

Leo gave a shrug, handing a pair of the bags to Donny and Hisako respectively.

"Traffic." he replied dismissively.

"Traffic-schmaffic." Mikey scoffed. "Gimme the food!"

"Okay Mikey." Leo chuckled, tossing him his bag.

Leatherhead came to claim a bag while Casey and April took theirs. Once everybody was eating, Leo slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out that paper. As he unfolded it, Hisako leaned over, looking over his shoulder

"Whatcha got there, Leo?" she asked.

Out of panic, Leo shoved the paper back into his pocket.

"Nothing." Leo responded hastily.

Hisako pointed at Leo's pocket, her eyes glowing green as she flicked her finger upward, pulling the paper from his pocket. She snatched it out of the air, deactivating her powers and unfolding the paper.

"Hey!" he shouted, trying to get the paper, "How did you even do that?!"

"Been practicing." Hisako responded, trying to read the paper and avoid her brother's attempts to retrieve it. "Haven't really had much else to do under mandatory bedrest."

"Come on. Give it back." Leo asked, realizing his attempts were futile.

"Why?" she asked. "What's so important about this paper?"

"Nothing just give it!"

Hisako refused, finally getting the chance to read the paper. Once she realized what it was, she broke out into a big grin.

"Guys! Leo got a girl's phone number!" she cheered.

"Would you be quiet?" Leo hissed.

"Leo's got a girlfriend! Leo's got a girlfriend!" She chanted, drawing the rest of the group's attention.

"Oh so that's what was keeping ya." Raph responded, looking up from his food.

"How could have a girlfriend if we never show ourselves to anyone?" Donny questioned.

Casey let out a cough, causing Donny to blush.

"Almost anyone." he corrected.

"I…" Leo started to say. "I met her while i was getting the food.

"How?" Mikey asked excitedly. "Is she pretty? What's her name? How old is she? Does she like turtles?"

"Did she see you?" Leatherhead added.

That question suddenly dropped the mood of the room, everybody looking at Leo for an answer to that oh so important question.

"I kept my helmet on the whole time. She didn't see my face." Leo quickly responded.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, and Leo took advantage of the reprieve to reclaim his paper.

"Besides, she's not my girlfriend." he argued. "Odds are, I'll probably never see her again."

"Then why did she give you her number?" Hisako asked.

"Number or not, it would never work." Leo told her, though he was most likely trying to convince himself. "Besides, our secret comes first, and there are enough people who know about us already."

April suddenly pelted Leo with a French fry.

"Glad to know we mean so little to you, Leo." she teased.

"Yeah, it's not like we risked our freedom and our lives to help you or anything." Casey added.

"Oooooh!" The other turtles called.

"I do believe they just called you out, Leo." Hisako jeered.

Leo's brow furrowed as he got to his feet, surprising everyone with his sudden change in demeanor.

"Okay, if you guys are just gonna treat me as a turtle punching bag, I'm heading out. I'll meet you guys back at the lair."

He abruptly got up, walking out of Leatherhead's home. Everyone watched him go a bit confused.

"Is it just me, or did he take that harder than he usually does?" Mikey asked.

"It ain't just you." Raph replied.

Hisako stood up, chowing down the last of her food before making her way home.

"I'll go check on him." she offered.

"Just be careful." Raph told her. "You're still-"

"Say I'm still recovering one more time, and I'll show you that I've fully recovered. Got that?"

Raph wisely fell silent as Hisako disappeared into the sewers.

…..

Leo continued walking through the tunnels as Hisako ran up to him.

"Hey mister grumpy shell." she greeted, slowly down to match his pace.

Leo turned and saw his sister finally catching up to him and groaned. He did not want to deal with any more teasing.

"Come to poke fun some more?" he grumbled.

"Actually, I came to see what crawled up your shell." she asked. "You usually bounce back from our teasing, and give back just as much. Why the sudden change?"

Leo stopped walking, wondering the same himself. Why had he suddenly gotten defensive? After a moment, he finally figured out the reason.

"Well… I guess I just got tired of It." he answered.

"Tired of what?" Hisako asked.

"Tired of everyone needling me about everything I do."

"We don't do that." Hisako replied.

Leo met her eye, then began to mimic her earlier impression of him.

"I know what is best because I am the leader." he mocked. "Sound familiar?"

Hisako threw her hands up in exasperation.

"I was joking!" she exclaimed. "I did the same thing with everyone else, and they all brushed it off no problem. Why can't you?"

"Because with being in charge of your guys' safety every time we leave the lair, i have enough on my mind without you guys treating me like a joke."

Hisako took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"Leo, we don't treat you like a joke." she promised. "We all trust you with our lives. Why do you think you're our leader? We joke and poke fun because we know that it's all for fun. We're family. It's kind of what we do."

"Then would it kill you to not mock me when something nice comes into my life?" Leo angrily pleaded.

Hisako blinked.

"You… You honestly like this mystery girl." she realized. "Leo..."

Leo suddenly felt himself falter a bit. Did he? He barely knew her. In fact, he only knew her name, nothing else.

"Well… so what if I do?"

Hisako sighed.

"Look Leo, believe when I say I can understand wanting to find someone outside of the family to trust, and to… well… love. However, you need to be careful. We got lucky with April and Casey, but I don't think every human we encounter will be the same."

Leo sighed, seeing the wisdom in his sister's words.

"I know that, but at least give me the chance to find out for myself. I'm not a complete idiot, I'm not gonna tell her everything right away."

Hisako nodded.

"Alright, but only on one condition."

"Name it."

Hisako then twirled her finger, his mask suddenly spinning on his face to cover his eyes.

"You lighten up, fearless leader!" she squealed, tackling him.

"Hey. Get off!" Leo yelled wrestling with Hisako.

"Make me." Hisako retorted.

The two wrestled playfully, Leo's earlier outburst forgotten. He may be the leader, but he was also their brother, and he would just have to learn to accept their poking fun. And with his mystery girl, he figured his chances of meeting her again were slim to none. Odds are, he'd forget about her in a few days.

….

Karai's motorcycle sped through the darkened streets, screeching around corners as she pulled up to a tall building labeled "Saki Enterprises". Not even bothering to slow down, Karai made her way into a large parking garage, each space filled with identical black motorcycles lined up in a row. Near the end, there was a space labeled 'Karai' in bold, spray painted letters. Karai parked in the spot, flipping her kick stand out and pulling off her helmet.

"Home sweet home." she said with a sigh. "Wonder what dad wants this time."

She sauntered over to the service elevator, walking in and placing her thumb on the scanner provided.

"Oroku Karai, let me in already." she announced.

There was a ding and the elevator closed, slowly taking her up to the top level. She tapped her foot impatiently at the slow ascent of the elevator, wondering if it really was the fastest way to the top floor. Finally the elevator stopped and the doors opened to the large Japanese temple that served as her father's office.

"I'm home!" she called, half expecting an echo.

There was no answer, not that Karai was surprised. She set her helmet down, closing her eyes and focusing. Up in the rafters, she could hear the sound of something moving as softly as possible. Smirking, Karai hooked her helmet with her foot, launching it into the air. With a sudden, powerful kick, she sent it soaring up towards the rafters, where it collided with one of the motorheads hiding up there.

"That all you got?!" she challenged.

The motorhead quickly got to his feet and charged towards her. She tried to perform a sweeping kick but he was quick to jump over and deliver a kick of his own. Fortunately Karai caught the foot and swung him away from her. The motorhead got up once again and charged towards her again. He delivered several punches at his opponent, but Karai quickly blocked each one. She finally grabbed one of his punched and flipped him onto his back. Karai then twisted the motorheads arm ready to deliver the final blow.

"Yame!" a voice called out.

Karai paused mid blow, her hand inches from her captive motorhead. She turned towards the source of the voice, dropping the motorhead.

"You know, if you wanted to see if I'd been keeping up with my studies, you could have just invited me to spar with you, Dad." she called.

"Adaptation to the unexpected is essential in a warrior." her father explained.

Karai just sighed, grabbing her now dented helmet and tucking it under her arm.

"You gonna come out of the shadows anytime soon?" she asked.

He stepped into the light showing a middle aged man in a blue and white Japanese-style garment. His hair was long and black, coming to just above his shoulders to frame his slender face. He approached her, looking Karai up and down.

"Your time in Japan has not dampened your sense of individuality." he remarked.

Karai tightened her bright pink ponytail with a shrug.

"Well, you probably shouldn't have sent me to college in the capital of anime and otakus." She told him with a small amount of sarcasm. "So why bring me home before my final semester?"

Saki led Karai to his desk, gesturing for her to sit on a cushion set up in front of it. Once she did, Saki took his seat, knitting his fingers together and resting his chin on them.

"I have an assignment for you." he explained.

Karai raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" she asked interested. "Can't remember the last time you gave me one of those."

"Over the past few years I have had some 'interlopers' meddling in my business."

Karai let out a snort.

"The great Oroku Saki having trouble with interlopers in his business? Call the presses!"

Had it been anyone else, Saki probably would have killed them where they stood. However, since it was Karai, he let it slide.

"I need you to find them and take them out." He concluded

"Alright." Karai agreed, cracking her knuckles. "What info do you have?"

Saki reached under his desk, pulling out a file before handing it to her.

"This has all the information Stockman collected on them." he explained as she started reading it. "Four mutant turtles and their human sister. Trained in the art of Ninjutsu.

Karai blinked, then looked down at the folder.

"You're kidding." she said bluntly.

"Extraordinary I admit, but true nonetheless." Saki responded.

Karai read the files in disbelief.

"You know, if I didn't know about Stockman's pets, I'd say you'd lost it."

She then read one of the names and paused.

"Leonardo. Huh. How ironic."

Saki paused as well, wondering what his daughter meant.

"How so?" Saki asked.

"Well, while I was riding around, I got into this race with another motorcyclist. Guy was gutsy, and his bike was sweet. Looked homemade, and the turtle-shell decals were really well done. Said his name was Leonardo."

Saki stroked his chin in contemplation. Could this mysterious rider be one of the turtles?

"Hmmm… That is quite the coincidence."

"Maybe." she allowed. "But I didn't see his face. Had on a full face helmet that he didn't remove, so there's no way of telling if it's your little friend or not."

"Did you hear his voice?" Saki asked.

Karai gave her father a withering glare.

"No dad, he communicated with me telepathically." she told him, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Of course I heard his voice."

Saki opened up his laptop, clicking on a file marked 'Turtles'. Going to the Leonardo subfolder, he found the file he wanted.

"Did he sound like this?" he asked

He pressed a button on his computer and an audio recording played.

_**Give us our sister, before things get ugly.**_

Karai focused for a minute, then nodded.

"Yeah… that's him." she said. "No doubt about it"

"Well then." Saki voiced, a plan forming already. "Perhaps we can use this to our advantage. Keep tabs on Leonardo. He may be the key to locating and destroying the others."

Karai gave a nod.

"Should be easy. I gave him my number and offered to teach him how to really ride that bike. I can use that to get close, and who knows. Maybe I'll set up a meeting with the whole family."

Saki couldn't help but smile. Karai had the same creativity and cunning as her father. It made him proud to call her his daughter.

"I know you will not fail me, Karai."

She gave a wink before sauntering out of the room.

"When have I ever?"


	15. The First of Many

There were very few things the turtles and Hisako enjoyed more than a nightly training run across the rooftops of New York City. From getting up out of the sewers, to the adrenaline of the chase, to the open air of the night sky, there were some many things to enjoy about these 'midnight runs'. Really it was the best thing about being a ninja turtle.

On this particular night, the turtles were just coming to the end of the training part of their evening, Hisako stretching and taking in the night air for the umpteenth time that evening.

"Gotta say guys," she remarked, coming out of a particularly long stretch. "I never thought I'd be so happy to return to training."

The turtles all shared a smile, remembering how Hisako had practically begged Master Splinter to let her join them on their training run. (Mikey was practically convinced that she used a 'Jedi mind trick' to get her way. However, that had been quickly shot down by Leo's counterargument that 'only the weak willed could be influenced like that')

"So what now guys?" Raph asked. "'Cause I think I speak for all of us when I say that I don't want to head in just yet."

Mikey's stomach let out a loud grumble, much to everyone's amusement.

"I think that answers that question." Leo chuckled.

"Last one to Mario Brothers hatched from a rotten egg!" Hisako suddenly shouted.

Before anyone could react, Hisako had shot across the rooftop, already jumping onto the next building. The brothers all watched her go, then grinned in a combination of exhilaration and determination. Competitions like this were commonplace nowadays, especially with Hisako's self-confidence on the rise. However, while they were willing to let her enjoy her victories, she would have to earn them.

"You heard her, guys." Leo announced.

One by one, each of the turtles took off, taking their own shortcuts in an attempt to pass up their sister.

Donnie took to the power lines, using his Bo staff to glide across them like a zip line. When he ran out of those, he swung along the various clothes lines that ran across the rooftops. He calculated that his increased speed would aid him in traversing the vast city in less time than it would take to run.

Mikey leapt down from one lower rooftop to another until he was near street level. He then leapt onto the roof of a large semi-truck and proceeded to ride that down the highway.

"Hey I think I invented truck surfing." Mikey proclaimed, riding the vehicle.

Raph barreled across the rooftops, making a beeline for the pizzeria. He knocked aside various rooftop furniture and clothes lines that blocked his path, refusing to let Hisako beat him.

"If she wins, she's gonna rub it in all our faces all night!" he growled. "No way am I gonna let that happen."

Leo made his way to street level and started jumping from lamppost to lamppost. He kept mostly undeterred from his goal, that is, until he saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks. In a garage on a mostly empty street, a familiar head of pink hair was bent over a motor bike.

"Wait a second." he muttered. "Was that-?"

He backed up, perching on one of the lamps and peering down at the small garage that had its doors wide open. Right in the middle of the garage was Karai, her pink hair tied up in a messy bun with several strands of it hanging in her face. She was wearing an oil-stained jumpsuit, a bandanna, and her face was covered in grime, but there was no denying it was her.

Seeing Karai again made Leo's heart skip a few beats as he was reminded of the fun the two had last time. It seemed he hadn't forgotten about her after all.

"Karai..." he whispered.

…..

At Mario Brothers, Hisako made it there first, landing in the back alleyway triumphantly. She threw her hands up in the air, a large grin plastered in her face.

"And Hamato Hisako wins again!" she cheered.

Don slid into the alleyway, his face dropping as Hisako began to do her best impression of a boastful Mikey.

"Ah come on." he complained, leaning against the wall pouting. "I could have sworn I found a good shortcut this time. I cut down travel time by 1.72 minutes!"

Hisako just shrugged.

"Sorry Don." she said. "But I guess the stigma of turtles being slow shall forever remain."

"Hey!" Mikey called out joining Donny and Hisako. "That's a hurtful stereotype."

Hisako stuck out her tongue playfully.

"If you can't take the heat, then stay out of the kitchen, little bro."

Mikey grumbled. At the same time Raph landed in the back alley and joined up with his siblings

"Oh great." He groaned. "Sis beat us again."

Hisako approached her brother with a big grin.

"Don't worry Raph." she told him, clapping him on the shell. "At least you're not last. That's Leo's spot this round."

That's when everyone noticed the distinct lack of their blue brother. They waited for a moment, then Mikey spoke up.

"Hey, where is Leo?" Mikey asked.

Hisako shrugged.

"He probably took a bad shortcut or something." Raph suggested.

"Leo?" Donny asked. "No way. He knows this city even better than I do."

"Don's got a point." Mikey agreed. "I mean, out of all of us, he should have been first."

"Well what would you suggest?" Raph asked.

There was silence before Hisako let out a groan.

"Oh for Pete's sake!" She exclaimed, "You're all thinking it. Let's go find him!"

She jumped up onto the fire escape, her brothers hot on her heels in pursuit.

….

Leo stayed on that lamppost for longer than he bothered to keep track. Seeing Karai again, he knew that he couldn't just forget about her, nor did he want to. Though it may be a risk to get close to her, it was a chance he was willing to take.

"I've got to give her a chance." he decided. "I'll just be careful."

He took out his shell-cell and the number she gave him. After a second of hesitation, he proceeded to dial.

….

In the garage, Karai wiped sweat from her brow, smiling at her handiwork. With the added fuel tank, and the new noz feature, she'd be able to hit new speeds, and performs even better tricks than before. It still required some fine tuning, but before she could get started, her phone began blaring.

_**I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation. You're living in the past it's a new generation. A girl can do what she wants to do and that's what I'm gonna do. And I don't give a damn ' bout my bad reputation!**_

Karai wiped her hands on her pant leg before grabbing her phone, checking the caller ID. Though she didn't recognize the number, she figured it wouldn't hurt to answer.

"Hello?" she said as she put the phone to her ear.

"_**Hey Karai**_." Leo's voice responded.

"Leonardo?" Karai blinked. "Hey there. Gotta say, I was not expecting you to call me."

"_**Yeah. Me neither**_." Leo admitted. "_**Listen… you still willing to show me a few moves?**_"

Karai grinned, wiping her face on a nearby cloth.

"Absolutely." she agreed. "I'll need some time to get ready. Hows about we meet in the downtown dump in two hours? Plenty of junk to jump over and there's nobody there."

Karai could practically hear the grin in Leo's voice.

"_**I'll be there**_." he responded happily.

"Great see ya then." Karai said before hanging up.

Once that conversation had ended, Karai returned her attention to her bike. She would need to work double time to get those fine tunings done in time, especially if she was gonna show Leo how a real rider acted.

…..

Leo tucked his shell cell back into his pocket, continuing his observations of Karai, as well as wondering how he was going to make the rendezvous with her. It was highly unlikely that Master Splinter would just let him go, and then there was the matter of his siblings.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear his family coming up behind him.

Almost.

"There you are." Raph called out, approaching Leo from an adjoining rooftop. "We've been looking all over for you."

Leo jumped at the sound of his siblings, his face turning redder than Raph's mask. Her turned around to see them all perched on the edge of the building behind him, looking down at him with curious expression.

"Hey guys." he called, waving sheepishly. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"Didn't you hear Raph?" Hisako asked. "He just said we were looking for you. The real question should be what are you doing here?"

That's when Mikey looked out passed Leo and into the garage behind him, spying Karai finishing off the last tune-ups on her bike. He got a big grin as he pointed at the building.

"Guys!" he hissed. "Check it out! There's a hot chick with pink hair!"

The others look down and saw the girl Mikey was talking about. Raph's eyes went wide at the bike she was tricking out, already making mental notes on how to makes his even better. Donny took one look at the girl, and instantly made the connection.

"Leo, is that your mystery girl?" he asked.

"... Maybe." Leo admitted, his face turning even redder.

"It is isn't it?!" Hisako squeed. "No wonder you forgot about the race!"

"Gotta admit bro, she is worth being hatched from a rotten egg." Raph admitted.

"Uhh…" Leo stuttered, honestly confused with how to reply to that comment. "Thanks. I guess."

As the five watchers were talking, Karai managed to finish up her work, setting her bike upright before shrugging out of her jump suit. Leo felt his jaw drop a bit, his eyes following Karai as she nonchalantly tossed the jumpsuit aside, grabbed her helmet, mounted her bike, and sped through the night.

"And there she goes." Mikey announced.

As Karai disappeared down the street, Hisako thought of something that made her pause.

"Hey Leo. I get wanting a quick look, but why stick around for so long?" Hisako questioned. "Were you thinking of going over and asking her out or something?"

Leo suddenly clammed up, turning away from his siblings in an attempt to dodge the question. Everyone noticed this, and were immediately shocked. The mood noticeably dampened as the purple turtle cleared his throat.

"You weren't, were you?" Donny asked astonished.

"No." Leo quickly dismissed, perhaps a bit too quickly. "Of course not."

Hisako jumped onto the lamppost right next to Leo, crossing her arms.

"Are you seriously trying to trick us when you know one of us is a telepath?" she questioned.

Leo felt a flicker of panic pass through him, but didn't dare let it register on his face.

"There's nothing to trick you about." Leo insisted.

Hisako raised an eyebrow.

"Okay then." she said, waving her hand about. "Then I guess you won't mind if I go poking around a bit?"

Leo just rolled his eyes.

"Is that really necessary sis?" Leo asked.

"I dunno, is it?" Hisako retorted.

"No." Leo answered, standing up and glaring at his sister. "I saw her while I was running to you guys and I guess I lost track of time. Nothing more nothing less."

Now everyone was looking at their brother skeptically.

"Leo, you really suck at lying." Mikey told him.

"Well it's true." Leo insisted. "What reason would I have to lie? I've already stated that it would never work. Why would I pursue the impossible?"

This made everybody back down. Leo did have a point with that, and his track record did show him to be the most reasonable of the turtles.

"Alright, sorry for pushing you bro." Raph apologized.

"Same." Donny and Mikey said in unison.

"We worry about you is all." Hisako defended.

"I know, but there's no need." Leo replied, silently grateful he'd been able to convince them. "I'm fine. Really."

Hisako lightly punched him on the arm.

"Just cause there's no need doesn't mean we're gonna stop." she told him. "It's part of being family."

She then jumped off the pole and back onto the rooftop.

"Now come on, Casey's got a pizza waiting for us and it's getting cold!"

"Right, let's go!" Leo ordered.

Everybody took off back towards Mario Brothers, Leo mentally breathing a sigh of relief after successfully quelling his siblings' fears and doubts. Now all he had to do was find a way to get Raph's bike out of the lair without anyone knowing.

…..

The turtles returned home from Mario Brothers, the remains of their pizza with them. Mikey tossed it in the fridge before letting out a big yawn.

"Aw man. All that running around got me all tired." the orange turtle commented

"What running?" Hisako questioned. "You road a big rig halfway across town!"

Mikey crossed his arms defensively.

"I still ran." he countered.

"Whatever." Raph brushed off, giving his little brother a noogie.

Hisako giggled at the sight, walking over to the wall and pressing the large red button. The floor of the living room opened up, allowing the massive turtle-bed to rise up. Hisako snagged her green blanket from a hook on the wall, flopping into the center of the mattress.

"Come on, bedtime everybody!" she called out. "Lest you wanna deal with another one of my nightmares."

"Actually," Donny interjected. "Since our little misadventure, I've been registering a major decrease in the frequency of your-"

"Shut up and get in bed." Raph interrupted, tossing a purple blanket at Donny's head.

Mikey just flopped onto his designated corner of the bed, falling fast asleep. Donny and Raph each took their corners as Leo turned off the lights. Reluctantly, he laid down, patiently waiting to hear the sounds of his siblings snoozing away.

…..

It took a good hour before Leo felt confident that his family was fast asleep. Once he was, he gently rolled off the mattress and onto the floor. Channeling every lesson of stealth and silence he'd learned, the blue turtle slipped out of the lair, climbing up into the garage. He nearly gave himself a heart attack when he tried to lift the trapdoor open, forgetting about the squeaky hinges, but thankfully, the rest of his journey to the garage was a silent one.

Once he successfully commandeered Raph's riding gear and helmet, he opened the garage door and wheeled the bike outside, not wanting to wake them with the sound of the bike revving up. As soon as he was outside he went back and closed the garage door, got on the bike, turning it on this time, and rode off.

…..

He made it to the dump a few minutes late, something he felt more than a bit embarrassed about. Still, Karai didn't seem to mind as she waved at him from where she'd parked her bike.

"You know, this is the first time I've ever had to wait for a Guy." she remarked as she approached Leo.

"Sorry." Leo apologized, parking his bike and climbing off.

Karai shrugged.

"Eh, no big deal." she told him. "So, you ready to learn how to properly ride that ride of yours?"

Leo grinned, climbing back onto his bike.

"Bring it on." He challenged.

The two revved up their bikes as Karai drove off first. She approached a makeshift ramp that had been set up near a pile of old mattresses, obviously a safety net of some sorts should her trick fail. She gunned the engine hitting the ramp at top speed and going flying in the air. She then released the handles of the bike, grabbing the seat and doing a literal handstand while in the air. She held it for about two seconds before getting back into position to land on another makeshift ramp.

"And that's just one of many tricks I know."

Leo whistled in amazement.

"Nice."

Karai gave a dramatic bow.

"You're too kind." she joked before straightening up. "Now let's see what you can do."

Leo thought for a moment, wondering if he could even perform a trick like that. However, as he thought about it, the mechanics of such a trick seemed to revolve around precise timing, as well as complete control of the rider's body and bike. Considering his training, such a feat couldn't be too hard to accomplish. More than that, he had an idea of what trick he was going to do.

Leo revved his bike and went full speed towards the ramp. Once he went up the ramp and got into the air, he released the bike completely. In a sudden flurry of motion, he planted his hand on the seat, sweeping his leg in a full circle as if he was taking out an entire squad of enemies. As he felt gravity beginning to take effect on the bike, Leo pulled himself back into position, landing on the other ramp. His landing wasn't perfect, and he lost control for a split second, but quickly regained it.

"Woo!" Karai cheered. "Good job, Leonardo. And here I thought you were a rookie."

"Guess not." Leo brushed off. "And just call me Leo."

Karai chuckled.

"Alright, Leo." she said. "I'll give you props for skills, but I can't be friends with a one-trick pony, so I hope that's not all you can do."

Under his helmet, Leo couldn't help but grin.

"Not even close."

…..

For the next two hours, Karai and Leo continued to do tricks on that makeshift ramp. There were a few wipe-outs on both their parts, but thankfully, those mattresses did their job surprisingly well. In the end, Karai was the first to call it, flopping onto the pile of mattresses with a big grin on her face.

"I don't know why you said you needed pointers." she commented, "It's obvious I have nothing to teach you."

"Maybe I just wanted an excuse to get to know you better." Leo replied.

Karai grabbed a small pillow that had also been thrown on the safety pile, throwing it at Leo.

"No corniness." she chastised playfully.

"Sorry." Leo replied, his voice anything but.

Karai just giggled, then sat up, turning to her bike.

"We still have some nighttime to kill." she remarked, going over to her bike. "So how's about we just ride?"

Leo gave a nod as Karai climbed back on her bike. As he climbed onto his own, a glint appeared in his eyes.

"Let's ride."

….

While Leo had seen the city from inside the Shell Raiser, and from the rooftops of New York's buildings, riding through the quiet streets with only the occasional driver was an experience unlike any Leo had experienced before. Needless to say he was enjoying it. He looked over to see Karai riding alongside him, though she was wearing her helmet, he could tell she was having fun too.

"Hey Leo!" she shouted, "Betcha I can make it to the pier before you!"

"You're on!" Leo shouted back.

That's when Karai hit a small switch on her handle, her bike suddenly doubling in speed. As she shot off into the night, blue flames dancing in her tailpipes, Leo called out in mock anger.

"Hey!" Leo yelled. "No fair!"

"Try and catch me!" she called back, her voice getting more distant with each word.

Leo revved his bike and set it as fast as it could go, trying to figure out the fastest route to the pier. Years of rooftop racing had left him with a fairly good mental map of the city, and he put it to good use finding a direct route.

Karai just kept cruising down the road towards the pier. She was just about to cross the makeshift finish line when Leo's bike came from a by-street she didn't even know was there, getting there seconds before her. Karai couldn't believe her eyes.

"So much for just riding." Leo quipped.

She stopped her bike, staring at Leo in utter amazement.

"How?" she sputtered. "How did you beat me?!"

"I took a shortcut." he responded with a smirk.

Karai regained her composure, then chuckled.

"Alright then." she told him. "I guess I'm buying the midnight snacks."

She set up her bike again, then turned to smile at Leo.

"I'll meet you on the roof of that fishery." she said, pointing to the small building. "Think you can climb up there?"

Leo looked up at the fishery, noting it as one of the many spots in the city that he and his family often used as a star-gazing perch.

"Shouldn't be a problem." Leo responded.

Karai gave him a small salute, then drove off to get the desired snacks.

…..

When Karai returned to the fishery, Leo was sitting on the edge of the building waiting for her. She slid onto the edge next to him, a box of cheese-squares under her arm and a few cans of pop in a bag.

"I didn't know what kind of snacks you liked, but I figured everyone liked cheese-squares."

"Sounds great." he told her, "Though I think in the snack department, I'm open to pretty much anything."

She plopped the box down between them, and Leo did reach for a few, though he only lifted his visor up enough to slip the small squares into his mouth. Thankfully, it was dark enough that Karai couldn't see the green hue of his skin.

In between bites of their shared snack, Karai seemed to stare out at the sky, marveling at its beauty.

"Y'know, it never fails to impress me." she said aloud.

"Yeah." Leo agreed. "The city is beautiful at night."

Karai leaned back, laying down on the roof.

"When I was a kid, I would stare up at the stars, and try to find shapes and patterns." she told him. "It's silly, I know, but-"

"Not at all." Leo interrupted. "My family and I do the same thing."

Karai sat up.

"Seriously?" she asked. "As in you still do it?"

Leo chuckled.

"Yeah." he replied. "My sister kind of started it the first time… well…. She started it, and it turned into a tradition for us. We'd sit out and stare up at the sky, trying to find the craziest constellations we could."

Karai laughed as well.

"Sounds like you and your family are close." she told him.

"We are." he agreed. "Then again, we've been the only family any of us have ever known, so I guess that kind of helps."

There was a bit of silence, then Karai spoke up again.

"What's it like?" she suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked for clarification.

She looked over at him, her smile faded somewhat.

"Having a close family..." she explained. "Siblings and such..."

He was a bit confused by the question, but did his best to answer.

"Well it can be a bit claustrophobic at times," he admitted. "But they always have my back. And i know they'll never let me down."

Karai chuckled.

"Claustrophobic?" she repeated. "How many siblings do you have?"

"Three brothers and one sister. We're all around the same age, and that makes things very interesting." Leo chuckled. "Especially around meal time. I'm surprised we ever have enough food to feed all of us. Mikey alone eats enough food for all five of us!"

Karai laughed a bit.

"It must be nice…" she told him, then she looked down. "What about your parents? What are they like?"

"My dad…" Leo thought, "Well, he can be a bit strict sometimes, but only because he loves us. Plus, he's very protective of us, but that's only because of what happened with his first family."

Karai blinked.

"His first family?" she asked.

Leo rubbed the back of his helmet.

"His wife and daughter died in a house fire." he explained. "He lost everything. After that, he adopted me and my bros… then our sister about 4 years ago."

Karai seemed to look at Leo in a different light, as if something had just clicked in her mind.

"You're all adopted, huh." she realized.

Leo shrugged.

"I guess you could say that." he admitted, "Though I just like to put it this way. We're all we've ever had, and all we've ever needed."

"But, don't you ever wonder about your real family?" Karai questioned.

Leo honestly thought about it. Having been born house pets, there was a very good chance their eggs had been taken from some large turtle hatchery somewhere.

"Not really me and the guys." Leo finally answered, "Though we have wondered about our sis. We wonder if she has any family out there somewhere, but she seems quite content with calling us family."

Karai's mood seemed to fall a bit as she curled up, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"I wish I felt that way about my family..." she commented.

Now it was Leo's turn to be taken aback.

"You're adopted too, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah…" she replied. "My parents died when I was really little. I don't remember much of what happened… just the sound of a large crash… then flames.

She shrugged out of her biker jacket, revealing several dragon shaped tattoos on various parts of her body. However, even in the low light of the evening, Leo could make out scar tissue underneath the ink.

"I've been told I got lucky, getting away with little more than a few scars" she explained, "I didn't feel lucky then… and I still don't. I probably would have ended up in foster care had it not been for my new dad."

"New dad?"

She nodded.

"I was adopted." she explained. "An old friend of my real dad's took me in. He became my new dad… but… It's not the same… Not entirely."

"I can imagine it wouldn't be." Leo admitted

There was silence once more, then Karai wiped her eyes.

"Well, I think I've had enough sappy backstory talk for tonight." she declared, rising to her feet and putting her jacket back on. "Come on. I'm going to show you the best driving route through the city."

She held out her hand for Leo to take, a big smile on her face. Leo took it, and when he did, he spotted the time on the watch he was wearing.

"Oh shell." he swore quietly.

He got to his feet, immediately dropping onto the ground below.

"I need to get back home." he told her. "I'm sorry."

Karai shrugged.

"No problem." she told him. "I'll call you, k?"

Leo gave a thumbs up, then sped off. As he disappeared, Karai suddenly realized something. With no small amount of reluctance, she looked down at the large belt around her waist, squeezing two small buttons on the top and bottom of the buckle. It revealed a small compartment containing an array of about three tracking devices. She had been so distracted by Leo and the conversation they'd had that she'd completely forgotten to do her job. Face palming herself hard, Karai leaned back, flopping onto the roof.

"I didn't plant that tracker!" she exclaimed. "Dad's gonna kill me…"

…..

Leo made a pit stop by a nearby gas station in order to fill up Raph's bike. Once that was done, he pulled up to the garage, cutting the engine a few feet from building. He placed the bike back in its usual spot, slipping the riding gear where it usually belonged. With that done, he lifted the trap door, sliding down into the lair. He caught himself on the opening, lowering himself down as quietly as he could manage. Touching down, he slid onto his corner of the bed, pulling his blanket over him.

The movement of the blanket caused Hisako to stir a bit as she opened her eyes a crack.

"Leo…?" she questioned sleepily.

He panicked for a moment, then forced it down.

"Just went to the bathroom." he told her simply.

"Okay..." she mumbled, her eyes closing as she went back to sleep.

Leo watched her drift off, then let out sigh of relief. He'd actually been able to get away with it. As he went to sleep as well, his mind was already imagining what would happen the next time he met up with Karai.


End file.
